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One Week After Flooding In Santa Barbara County, Numbers Show 115 Homes Destroyed; FEMA Offering Aid

(Photo by Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department)
Crew work on boulder swept into Montecito by flooding

One week after Southern Santa Barbara County was hit by massive flooding, the death toll remains at 20 people, with three still missing.

Highway 101 remains closed, as crews work around the clock to remove mud and debris. Earth movers are rumbling through the Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria areas as they claw through mountains of mud, and debris.

The latest survey shows 115 homes were destroyed, and more than 240 damaged. More than 10,000 people still can’t go home, because many houses are still without essential services like electricity, gas, sewer service and water.

Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents affecting by the Thomas Fire, and/or the flooding can now register for federal assistance through FEMA. You can call 800-621-3362 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week to register. Disaster assistance ranges from help with rent, to essential home repairs. There are also grants for uninsured and underinsured personal property losses, and other serious disaster related needs not covered by insurance.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.