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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 21, 1996

            PRESIDENT CLINTON DECLARES A STATE OF EMERGENCY 
                   IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO

President Clinton today declared an emergency exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered Federal aid to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area struck by a gas leak explosion on November 21, 1996.

The President's action authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to activate and deploy search and rescue teams, to respond to this event that occurred in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as authorized under subsection 502(a) of the Stafford Act.

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