‘92 Costliest Year for Disaster Agency

WASHINGTON —  Led by the devastation from Hurricane Andrew in Florida, 1992 was the worst year on record for natural and man-made disasters in the United States.

The government declared 45 major disaster areas at a projected cost of $3.17 billion in emergency relief funds, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Wallace Stickney reported.

The disaster count broke the 1991 record of 43 areas. Hurricane Andrew’s rampage through South Florida and Louisiana last August is expected to be the most costly, taking about 62%, or $1.98 billion, of FEMA’s 1992 aid.

While the East Coast suffered almost half of the 1992 disasters, California was the worst-hit state.

The Golden State suffered mudslides, wildfires, floods and earthquakes. But its greatest devastation came from the Los Angeles uprising after the acquittal in April of white police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney G. King.

The Los Angeles riots are costing FEMA $235 million, the bulk of its quarter-billion dollar costs for five disasters in California last year, Stickney said.

Other major relief efforts in 1992 included Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii costing $437.5 million, Puerto Rico’s floods at $85 million and a typhoon in Guam at $66.3 million.