Napa supervisors vote for 'major disaster' declaration

[caption id="attachment_97599" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Damages such as this to a building at Brown and Second streets in central Napa were part of the justification in the county of Napa's request for federal disaster assistance. (credit: Erik Castro for The Press Democrat)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_92880" align="alignright" width="180"] Mark Luce[/caption]

NAPA -- The Napa County Board of Supervisors on Thursday voted to seek President Obama's declaration of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake Sunday as a "major disaster," which allows the area to seek state and federal assistance.

“While the hospitality industry did experience significant impacts, it has largely recovered and is open for business,” says Mark Luce, chairman of the board. "We welcome and encourage visitors to the world renowned Napa Valley."

The board resolution to declare a federal emergency starts the process to have Governor Brown request an emergency declaration from the White House. If granted, it would make federal assistance programs available to residents and businesses in the affected areas.

Early next week officials from the California Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected in Napa to begin the preliminary damage assessment required to verify the need for federal resources.[poll id="134"]

County staff using the HAZUS earthquake loss-estimation model have developed an initial estimate of $362.4 million in building, infrastructure and economic losses. HAZUS is a regional earthquake loss estimation model that was developed by FEMA and the National Institute of Building Sciences.

Initial survey results show that 123 businesses in the wine and agriculture industry sustained damages totaling $48 million dollars.

That figure is expected to increase as additional information is submitted. It doesn't include losses during cleanup or closure of facilities, tourism or inventory.

Hotels in Napa County are starting to calculate losses, according to county officials. Four hotels were required to close, and dozens have reported room cancellations and have had to shut down some rooms.

As of 1 p.m. Friday, the number of Napa structures city inspectors tagged as uninhabitable or requiring caution in portions increased to 1,053, including 153 with a red no-go tag and 900 with yellow tags, according to a spokesman.

Ninety-eight percent of Napa Valley's hotels are open, as are 95 percent of wineries and restaurants, Clay Gregory, president of official tourism booster group Visit Napa Valley said Thursday morning at the Business Journal's Impact Napa - Wine Conference in south Napa.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, Vallejo inspectors had red-tagged 22 properties and yellow-tagged 180, according to the city.

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