In brief, for a total estimated fiscal year 1971 requirement of $192 million, $167 million in obligational authority is available for fiscal year 1971. It is anticipated that an additional $25 million will be needed this fiscal year.

Several occurrences in the recent past, and some potential disasters, deserve particular attention.

The California earthquake in February took 65 lives. We were fortunate that it occurred in the early morning, before most people were awake, and that its main force was not in the more densely built-up areas of Los Angeles County. The costs of this disaster are incalculable in terms of human suffering. The dollar costs will be the highest of any disaster since the beginning of the program. We currently estimate that before we are through with this disaster, the cost to the President's fund alone will be $135 million.

DESCRIPTION OF EARTHQUAKE AREA

This is a map of the earthquake area, a matter of almost certain interest to this subcommittee. Los Angeles is off the chart down here. This is the northern portion of Los Angeles County. The epicenter of this earthquake was here, or some distance from the populated area. This is the veterans' hospital where one of the three wings collapsed. This is the Olive View Hospital, which for all practical purposes is totally destroyed, although the first time you look at it you don't see it is destroyed. This was the power station intertie that was destroyed. This was the dam that was cracked so it was necessary to evacuate 80,000 people. This is San Fernando, which is the populated section that was most damaged. In this entire area we estimate now that in loans and grants triggered by the various disaster acts, the Federal Government will put in over $430 million.

Of this, $135 million is expected to come from the President's Disaster Relief Fund. Some $20 million will be needed in obligational authority in fiscal year 1971.

Recent tornadoes in Mississippi have added to the needs for disaster assistance, and our people have been on the scene helping the victims.

OPERATION FORESIGHT '71

Flooding has begun in parts of the Far West and Middle West with severe storms and thawing of record snow packs. So far, the States of Washington, Oregon, and Nebraska have experienced major disasters. We can expect to see a great deal more of this before the summer months come.

To help alleviate the effects of spring floods, OEP is coordinating Operation Foresight 1971. This is a program conducted by the Corps of Engineers and several other Federal agencies to build temporary dikes and dams in areas threatened by this flooding, and to take other preparedness measures. A similar operation in 1969 prevented a great deal of damage, in addition to the suffering and deaths avoided.

I might say that the Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with State and local governments, helped protect 400 communities. The protective works include 200 miles of temporary levees, and I encouraged the Chief of Engineers to leave those temporary levees in and to counsel

the local communities on how to take care of them. A good deal of this happened and necessary levees are now serving against the threat of the snowmelt this year.

Mr. ROBISON. Mr. Chairman.

Is the cost of "Operation Foresight" borne by the Corps of Engineers?

Mr. LINCOLN. The major costs, yes, sir; under Public Law 84-99. Mr. ROBISON. Those costs are not within your budget?

Mr. LINCOLN. No, sir; we are acting purely as a coordinator of their efforts with some other agencies. We have some administrative costs undoubtedly in this.

Mr. Chairman, that completes my prepared statement and with the help of my colleagues I will try my best to answer any questions that you may have.

OKLAHOMA TORNADOES

Mr. STEED. Mr. Director, to begin with, I suppose that I am going to have to be a witness in behalf of the emergency fund since my hometown was involved in a tornado disaster last fall.

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir, I recall that.

Mr. STEED. I had a firsthand opportunity to observe your organization in action.

I must say that if you handle all situations as efficiently and well, as promptly as you did that one, we have a very fine program. My hometown was struck in late afternoon by an unprecedented tornado in the fall of the year, which normally does not happen in that area. It created some very unusual problems for us and we could not imagine any finer way anybody could have organized an emergency program and handled the situation any more promptly and efficently than they did in that case. Fortunately there was a minimum loss of life and injury, but it was a staggering blow to a town of that size. Mr. LINCOLN. Thank you for the expression, and I will pass it on to our regional director.

Mr. STEED. One of the most commendable things that I observed there was the fact that almost within an hour after the storm struck, steps were being taken by your people and the agencies that they were going to involve with them in the matter were already in motion to get on top of the problem and begin the steps necessary to cope with it. As a result of the unusual work beyond the call of duty, I would think your regional office did, the matter of advising the Governor and your office here in Washington was very prompt and complete, and so there was no lost motion whatever in that part of the function to see that the whole matter was dealt with without delay or interruption.

PAY RAISE FUNDS

These first two items are more or less automatic items on the requirements to meet the pay costs. In that connection, since these pay raises have been in operation for some months now, I assume that people on board have already received those raises?

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir.

Mr. STEED. That means, based on your 1971 budget approved it is going to leave you short of payroll money for the tail end of the year unless a supplemental is granted. Is that the kind of situation you find yourself in?

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir; we had to have faith we would get the supplemental.

ABSORPTION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS

Mr. STEED. You have an absorption of $181,000-
Mr. LINCOLN. We were able to do that, yes, sir.

Mr. STEED. Was this just the amount that you found possible to absorb, or was there any requirement placed on you to do this?

Mr. LINCOLN. I believe we did this in part from being a little slow in the hiring of replacements. Let me ask Mr. Kearney.

Mr. KEARNEY. This was the amount attributable to the April 1970 pay raise and we worked that out as the Director indicates.

Mr. STEED. Are you pretty sure these funds are going to be adequate to see you through the end of the year?

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir; we feel that these sums will be adequate.

DISASTER ASSISTANCE FUNDS

Mr. STEED. If this supplemental for the disaster fund is granted, will that bring your total for the fiscal year to $192 million?

Mr. LINCOLN. To $192 million budget authority, of which $90 million is in fiscal year 1971.

Mr. STEED. Since you have this retroactive factor in some of the ongoing items, for all practical purposes you have already obligated some of your 1972 budget?

Mr. LINCOLN. In effect, we are committed; and committed well ahead, because, as I interpret the law-and I will ask my General Counsel to stop me if I am wrong—as I interpret the law, once the President declares a major disaster, this is in effect a commitment to carry out the subprograms in the law.

Mr. STEED. When you speak of a carryover, you are only talking in terms of the current fiscal year itself?

Mr. LINCOLN. Anything carried over in effect remains with us and we are already committed for that and much more.

Mr. STEED. It is not a carryover in the normal sense of the word? Mr. LINCOLN. No, sir.

Mr. STEED. In a sense, part of the charge-off against it occurred in the fiscal year that is expiring, although the actual payment of the obligation does not come until another fiscal year?

CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE EXPENDITURES

Mr. LINCOLN. I believe that you are correct, yes, sir. As an example, I consider that our estimated commitment from the President's fund for Los Angeles County is about $135 million right now. We will only spend a small amount of that between now and the end of the fiscal year. Because permanent structures are involved it may be several years before, for instance, we rebuild Olive View Hospital, which will cost us about $35 million.

Mr. MYERS. Is it a veterans hospital?

Mr. LINCOLN. No, sir; it is a county hospital. The Veterans' Administration will be responsible for their own hospital. By the law, we replace State and local public facilities.

Mr. MYERS. What is the percentage?

Mr. LINCOLN. By the new law we replace them on a permanent basis. By the old law we replaced them on a temporary basis with a proviso for a grant-in-aid when permanent restoration was desired. It is 100 percent now.

Mr. STEED. Assuming no new disasters in this fiscal year, what would be your total payment for the fiscal year? This is based on what has already happened?

Mr. LINCOLN. Assuming that we get no new disaster, our estimate as shown on that chart would be $10 million below the $192 million, $182 million.

I am very certain, sir, that we are going to have one or more disaster declarations. I don't think that in the more than 2 years I have been in this position that we have gone 3 months without at least one disaster declaration.

PREPARATIONS FOR PROBABLE FLOODING

Mr. STEED. Have you had a study made of this unprecedented accumulation of snow in the high regions of the West? That means that the impact on flooding downstream is very imminent?

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir. We lean on the weather service, which has now got a new name, NOAA-it may be appropriate the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. We consider them to be very competent in this area. We work very closely with them on a day-by-day and hour-by-hour basis on forecasts of any situations that look like they might result in a disaster. In addition, I am getting a weekly report on the relationship between the heavy snows in various areas and probable flood stages, plus top flood stages on the rivers concerned.

Mr. STEED. One of the intangibles in that kind of thing would be in the area of an unexpected or unforeseen sudden thaw. The rate of thaw has a lot to do with the impact of the flooding, doesn't it?

Mr. LINCOLN. Yes, sir. I understand that warm days and cold nights are the optimum situation. The worst situation would be 3 days of heavy rain.

I do have this latest report to show you on Operation Foresight which the committee might be interested in. There is this type of map provided by the Weather Service.

Mr. STEED. About all you can do in a case like that is just be aware of the problem and the potential damage and move to cope with it as it comes up?

Mr. LINCOLN. We have a preparedness program and a related prevention program. These programs turn on our regional offices working very closely with the State and local governments so that they take preparedness and preventive actions. In fact, Governors of States threatened by flooding in most cases will hold a large meeting of State and local officials in preparation therefor.

Mr. Trent went to a meeting in Alaska a couple of weeks ago because of apprehensiveness that their snow load, has very, very heavy flooding possibilities. And he also went to a meeting in Kansas City. Mr. Grace went to a Minnesota meeting.