THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary
               (Hong Kong, People's Republic of China)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                       July 2, 1998

                    VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES
                    MAJOR DISASTER EXISTS IN IOWA

Vice President Gore today announced that a major disaster was declared in the State of Iowa and that Federal aid was ordered by the President to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding beginning on June 13, 1998, and continuing.

This action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Audubon, Cass, Chickasaw, Dallas, Fremont, Guthrie, Montgomery, Page, Polk and Pottawattomie.

Assistance can include disaster housing, grants, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding also is available to eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for the repair or replacement of public facilities damaged by the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in the counties of Audubon, Cass, Dallas, Fremont, Guthrie, Montgomery, Page, and Pottawattomie. Federal funding is also available on a cost share basis for hazard mitigation measures.

The Agency said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and additional counties may be added after the assessments are completed.

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