An Unnaturally Good Year for State Disasters

SACRAMENTO —  Hung over? Mired in the post-holiday blues? Savor this with your first cup of 1997 coffee:

California--legendary land of oh-my-God calamities--was a pretty agreeable place to live last year--at least in terms of natural disasters.

True, there were raging fires that torched scores of homes and thousands of acres from San Diego to Ventura in October.

But 1996 brought no killer quakes and no deadly floods. There were no riots in the streets, no swarms of medflies clouding the air. Drought did not dry up our rivers, and bushels of fruit did not freeze in the fields.

Perhaps most remarkably, the state announced Tuesday that not a single person died during a natural disaster in 1996--and disaster-related damages topped out at a mere $119 million.

That’s a dramatic drop from 1995, when 28 lives were lost and $1.8 billion in damage was racked up.

All of this has left those in the disaster business bordering on giddiness. At the state Office of Emergency Services on Tuesday afternoon, the director called 1996 “a welcome relief” from the historic string of large and expensive disasters that have ravaged California in recent times.

“We’re very happy,” said Richard Andrews, emergency services director since 1991. “It’s dangerous to make any predictions, but we certainly hope that our relative good fortune continues.”

Although Andrews may be hopeful, he knows better than to be optimistic. This is California, after all, and because of its geography and crowded conditions, the state probably won’t be a disaster-safe zone for long.

Indeed, even as Andrews relayed the positive tale of 1996, he was carefully eyeing a potential disaster brewing in Northern California.

Accumulated rainfall continued to aggravate flooding and mudslides in six counties, and two rivers--the Russian and the Napa--were rising.

“The forecasts are ominous,” Andrews said. “These are very warm storms, so we’re getting a lot of runoff.”

Steve Sharpe, a spokesman for the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services, said several families had been evacuated from their homes along the Russian River, which had swollen to about 12 feet above flood level by Tuesday evening.

But Sharpe said that aside from a few flooded homes, there had been no significant storm-related damage, meaning the state’s cheery report of a calm 1996 might hold.

Sharpe noted, however, that it was a good thing there wasn’t another day left in 1996. Forecasters were predicting another hard downpour along the Russian River by 4 a.m. today.

For disaster specialists and relief workers, 1996 marked a break in the action. Since 1991, California has experienced four record-setting years in terms of natural disasters. For a while, the state was averaging a presidential disaster declaration every four months.

Over the last six years, about the only disasters that haven’t struck California are a hurricane and volcanic eruption. Once considered a sun-drenched mecca, the Golden State in the 1990s came to be viewed as a perilous place.

“The pace has been incredible, and the losses associated with all these disasters have been historic,” Andrews said. “There are so many different risks in this state. Hurricane is about the only thing we don’t have to worry about.”

Although the statistics paint a pretty picture of 1996, it does not mean that all was quiet. Fires, in particular, kept emergency workers busy, with more than 7,961 acres burned--nearly twice the amount consumed in 1995--but relatively few structures lost.

In October, Santa Ana winds whipped blazes in San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, burning more than 120 homes and injuring some firefighters.

California relief workers also remained busy with the usual searches for lost hikers in the mountains, and with follow-up work on the Northridge earthquake. And a team of California disaster workers even had time to help out at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Times staff writer Max Vanzi contributed to this story.

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Disaster Losses in California

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Year Disasters Deaths Total Losses 1996 Fires, flooding 0 $119 Million 1995 Severe winter storms 28 $1.8 Billion 1994 Northridge earthquake 57 $25-$27 Billion 1993 Southland firestorm, winter storms 24 $1.3 Billion 1992 Earthquakes, fires, flooding, civil unrest 60 $1.6 Billion 1991 East Bay Hills fire, earthquake, 43 $3 Billion flooding, freeze and drought 1990 Fires, storms, fruit fly infestation 4 $317 Million 1989 Loma Prieta quake, medfly infestations 63 $5.9 Billion 1988 Storms, fires 0 $31 Million 1987 Imperial and Whittier earthquakes, fires 11 $364.7 Million 1986 Winter storms 0 $407 Million

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NOTE: Figures are rounded off and reflect information that may change as repairs continue on damaged structures.

SOURCE: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services