_ — THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPON—SE TO THE \^ NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE Y 4. G 74/7: N 81/4 The Governnent's Response to the No... BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION, AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JANUARY 19, 1996 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 40-930CC WASHINGTON : 1997 •* j^^ ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-055201-X THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE NORTHRIDGE E=AR^TH=QUA=KE^=^= Y4.G 74/7; N 81/4 The Governnent's Response to the No... BEFORE THE SUBCOxMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION, AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JANUARY 19, 1996 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 40-930CC WASHINGTON 1997 : ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice.Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-055201-X COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT WILLIAM F. CLINGER, Jr.. Pennsylvania, Chairman BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, CaUfornia J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois TOM LANTOS, Cahfomia CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland ROBERT E. WISE, Jr., West Virginia CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut MAJOR R. OWENS, New York STEVEN SCHIFF, New Mexico EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South Carolina WILLIAM H. ZELIFF, Jr., New Hampshire LOUISE Mcintosh slaughter. New JOHN M. McHUGH, New York York STEPHEN HORN, California PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania JOHN L. MICA, Florida GARY A. CONDIT, California PETER BLUTE, Massachusetts COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida DAVID M. Mcintosh, Indiana CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York JON D. FOX, Pennsylvania THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin RANDY TATE, Washington GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi DICK CHRYSLER, Michigan BARBARA-ROSE COLLINS, Michigan GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana Columbia WILLIAM J. MARTINI, New Jersey JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida GENE GREEN, Texas JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona CARRIE P. MEEK, Florida MICHAEL PATRICK FLANAGAN, IlUnois CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire BILL BREWSTER, Oklahoma STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South Carolina BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland (Independent) James L. Clarke, StaffDirector Kevin Sabo, General Counsel Judith McCoy, ChiefClerk Bud Myers, Minority StaffDirector Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology STEPHEN HORN, California, Chairman MICHAEL PATRICK FLANAGAN, IlUnois CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York PETER BLUTE, Massachusetts MAJOR R. OWENS, New York THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South CaroUna JON D. FOX, Pennsylvania PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania RANDY TATE, Washington COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire Ex Officio WILLLAM F. CLINGER, Jr., Pennsylvania CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois J. Russell George, StaffDirector Jeff Wilmot, Professional StaffMemebr Andrew G. Richardson, Clerk Cheryl Phelps, Minority Professional StaffMember (II) CONTENTS Page Hearing held on January 19, 1996 1 Statement of: Andrews, Richard, director. Governor's Office of Emergency Services, California; Constance Perett, manager, Emergency Services, county of Los Angeles, CA; and Major General Robert J. Brandt, Assistant Adju- tant General and Commander, California Army National Guard 57 Jones, Donald W., vice president, disaster services, American Red Cross; James T. Haigwood, CEO, Los Angeles Chapter, American Red Cross; Terri Jones, director, special projects, California Community Founda- tion; and John Suggs, director, public policy and government affairs, the United Way ofGreater Los Angeles 106 Riordan, Richard, mayor, city ofLosAngeles, CA 37 Wilson, Blenda J., president, California State University, Northridge; Robert Maxson, president, California State University, Long Beach; and J. Richard Williams, dean ofengineering, California State Univer- sity, Long Beach 148 Witt, James Lee, Director, Federal Emergency ManagementAgency 9 Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Andrews, Richard, director. Governor's Office of Emergency Services, California, prepared statementof 61 Brandt, Major General Robert J., Assistant Adjutant General and Com- mander, California Army National Guard: Information concerning cost and grant summary 94 Prepared statement of 86 Haigwood, James T., CEO, Los Angeles Chapter, American Red Cross, prepared statement of 115 Jones, Donald W., vice president, disaster services, American Red Cross, prepared statement of 110 Jones, Terri, director, special projects, California Community Foundation, prepared statement of 121 Maxson, Robert, president, California State University, Long Beach, pre- pared statement of 161 Perett, Constance, manager. Emergency Services, county ofLos Angeles, CA, prepared statement of 77 Riordan, Richard, mayor, city of Los Angeles, CA, prepared statement of 42 Suggs, John, director, public policy and government affairs, the United Way ofGreater LosAJigeles, prepared statement of 140 Williams, J. Richard, dean of engineering, California State University, Long Beach, prepared statement of 167 Wilson, Blenda J., president, California State University, Northridge, prepared statement of 152 Witt, James Lee, Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency, pre- pared statementof 14 (III) THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE NORTHRroGE EARTHQUAKE FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1996 House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Northridge, CA. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., at the Cahfornia State University, Northridge, CA, Hon. Steve Horn (chairman ofthe subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Horn, Flanagan, and Davis. Also present: Representatives Dreier, Dixon, McKeon, and Torres. Staff present: J. Russell George, staff director and counsel; An- drew G. Richardson, clerk; Kevin Sabo, general counsel; Jeff Wilmot, professional staff member; and Cheryl Phelps, minority professional staffmember. Mr. Horn. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on Gov- ernment Management, Information, and Technology will come to order. On January 17, 1994, an earthquake measuring 6.7 percent on the Richter scale struck the Los Angeles area. It was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to confront our Nation. In its wake, more than 70 people lost their lives, and thousands were injured. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged, leaving over 25,000 people homeless. Severe destruction to the freeways oc- curred tying up the region's transportation network. The damage resulting from the quake was estimated to exceed $20 billion. Immediately following the earthquake, the Federal Government, working with State and local governments, mobilized its responses. Coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the recovery effort continues through this day. The purpose of today's hearings is to determine the adequacy of the Federal Government's response, the cooperation between Fed- eral, State, local governmental entities as well as the work of non- profit and community organizations. In a region where earthquakes are a constant threat, it is imperative for Members of Congress to understand first-hand what occurred in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in order to learn from it. The witnesses who will be assisting us in this effort are James Lee Witt, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the mayor of Los Angeles, Richard Riordan; Mr. Richard Andrews, the director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Serv- (1) ices in the State; Constance Perett, the manager of the Emergency Services for the county of Los Angeles; and Major General Robert Brandt, the Assistant Adjutant General, California National Guard. We also have with us today representatives ofprivate relieforga- nizations which had a key role in the aftermath of the Northridge Earthquake. Representing the National Headquarters of the Amer- ican Red Cross is the vice president for Disaster Services, Donald Jones. Along with us are James Haigwood, the Chief Executive Of- fice, Los Angeles Chapter of the Red Cross; Terri Jones, director of special projects, California Community Foundation; and John Suggs, the director of public policy and government affairs. United Way ofGreater Los Angeles area. Then we will be hearing from Dr. Blenda Wilson, our host as president ofCalifornia State University, Northridge, and I may say, as we all know, this campus was great- ly damaged by the earthquake. We will also have on the last panel Dr. Robert Maxson, the presi- dent of California State University, Long Beach; and Dr. Richard Williams, the dean of the College of Engineering at the University, whose testimony will guide us in the direction of what mitigation efforts can be made in advance of tragedies, be they earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, all ofthe things FEMA and this State have gone through with the exception of hurricanes in the case to California, and their testimony will assist us in learning more about mitiga- tion efforts which can be used to lessen the impact ofsimilar earth- quakes or other disasters in the future. We thank all of them for coming out here on Friday and joining us, and we look forward to their testimony. It is an indication of the importance of this subject matter to the Members ofthe House of Representatives by the number of Members we have visiting with the subcommittee today. To my immediate left is the vice chairman of the subcommittee, Representative Michael Flanagan of Illinois, and he will be joined soon by another member of the subcommittee, Tom Davis of Vir- ginia, who was delayed in a fog in Chicago and is on his way. With us today are a number of key representatives from the Los Angeles Region, and we will be hearing from them shortly. Rep- resentative Julian Dixon is on my immediate right, a long-time member, key member, of Appropriations, was very active in secur- ing the funds and, as I mentioned to Julian this morning, he was certainly in every meeting I was in and played a major role in the congressional response to this and many other disasters. We also have with us a key member of the majority, David Dreier, one of the principal leaders of the House as a member of the Committee on Rules. We will have with us Marty Martinez, who will be here, and we have with us now Howard "Buck" McKeon, in whose district we are, and president of the freshman class that I came in with, and a very respected Member ofthe House. With us later today will be Representative Esteban Torres and Representative Maxine Waters. I would now like to turn to the ranking minority member here, Congressman Dixon, for any opening statement he might wish to make. Mr. Dixon. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I don't really have an opening statement. I will be very, very brief. First of all, I would like to thank you and the committee members for paying attention to our region of the country that has been impacted over a period oftime with an extraordinary number ofdisasters. I think that in a bipartisan and cooperative way, when the earth- quake hit us, you saw our California delegation in its entirety working together to rapidly bring funds to those here in southern California. Obviously, disaster relief and mitigation issues are going to be examined in the coming Congresses for, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I think that we all know and un- derstand that whereas Members of Congress are sympathetic, sometimes they are exacerbated by the fact that there is a continu- ing flow of money coming to California to bail out situations that occur from Mother Nature. It certainly occurs in other areas of the country, but we have had a great deal of dialog in the Appropria- tions Committee as it relates to funding for disasters in California. Finally, I would like to say that, as we talk about the overview of how FEMA performed in the last disaster, the earthquake, I am very pleased to say that from my observation, their performance was excellent. Was it perfect, no. Are institutions of Government ever perfect, absolutely not. But I have found that Director Witt has been not only on the scene, but very cooperative with the Cali- fornia delegation. I also recognize that from time to time that agencies of goodwill will have differences and I think the testimony here today will re- flect some of those differences. Nevertheless, whether it is the city of Los Angeles, or the State of California or FEMA, our Federal representative, I think in the last disaster, the earthquake, that they responded in good faith, had a high degree of cooperation and I think our task is to make sure that in the future that degree of cooperation and success continue. Thank you very much. Mr. Horn. Thank you. I now yield to the vice chairman of the subcommittee, Represent- ative Flanagan of Illinois. Mr. Flanagan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am inundated with bits of paper here, because I am from the land of flatness and the land where we don't have earthquakes. I would like to echo what Mr. Dixon had said so eloquently, as he always is, in that, the general perception is California is the natu- ral disaster theme park and that we are constantly pouring money into it. That is why hearings like this are so important, to bring Members from Illinois and Virginia and other places, other than the California Delegation who are so well acquainted with the inti- mate problems, to take that information not just back to Washing- ton, but to points in the Nation and explain that when an earth- quake causes billions of dollars in damage, destro3dng institutions ofhigher learning and homes and businesses and other areas is not to be taken lightly and certainly the Federal Government has a role. We are here for oversight reasons. We are here to make sure that the money that is appropriated is well spent. In an effort to make sure that it is well spent, that we acquaint ourselves with the operations of FEMA and other relevant authorities. So I con- gratulate the chairman for having these hearings, for bringing Members from outside of the near area and with that I yield back. Mr. Horn. Thank you very much. I now yield to Mr. Dreier, the gentleman from California and east Los Angeles. Mr. Dreier. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Leave it to Steve Horn, a former university president, to bring us to a university campus. It is very nice to be here and I will say that it is amazing for me to see the devastation that still exists here, just as we were driving in. I would like to say that it is an honor to be with my friend and colleague, Buck McKeon, who was on the front line 2 years ago dealing with this situation here. Also Mike Flanagan, I got a call at 6 this morning from my sister who is almost, not quite, a constituent of his telling me about the snow and the weather in Chicago. So I will say that I know that it was a real sacrifice for Mr. Flanagan to come to southern Califor- nia. Mr. Flanagan. A shattering one. Mr. Dreier. Yes, but I will say, to respond slightly to Michael's remark, earthquakes are not simply a California phenomenon. There are 39 States of the 50 that have a high propensity, not as high as California's in many instances, but do have a propensity for earthquakes. We all know that the most serious earthquake in the history of this country did not take place here in California or Alaska, but on the Madrid fault line, right in the center of the United States. It seems to me that the presence of Mike Flanagan and Tom Davis and others from around the country will help us demonstrate that this is not simply a regional issue and it is one that needs to be addressed nationally. I will never forget on October 1, 1987, it was late morning and I was on the floor of Congress and my very good friend and col- league, who I guess is going to be here later, Esteban Torres, came up to me on the House floor and said, "David, did you hear about the California earthquake this morning?" I naturally felt helpless, and I found that that earthquake was 5.9 in magnitude, it took place in what is known as the Whittier Narrows area, which at that time I was privileged to represent. In the wake of that we had not only the tragedy of the earth- quake, but, quite frankly, a very tragic experience dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other Federal agen- cies. And my office was there for literally days as the only Federal entity on the spot in the wake ofthe Whittier Narrows earthquake. So I took it upon myself, working with a number of my col- leagues, at that point to ensure that we improve the coordination between the State and the Federal Government. I am pleased to see Dick Andrews here. I should say it is great to see James Lee Witt and Dick Andrews and others of you in what is other than a disaster situation. I mean, every time I look at you all we are deal- ing with a real tragedy. So it is nice to see you. But we were able, following the 1987 earthquake, I believe, to take some very major steps in preparation for another earthquake. We all kno—w what happened 2 years later on October 17th. I was, at that point we all remember where we were during these earth-