Disaster Relief

Eager to show they are responding swiftly to California's devastating wildfires, federal lawmakers are beginning work on a $1-billion emergency measure for disaster relief. But the response will open two contentious issues that go beyond money and could delay the process: whether the federal government should begin subsidizing insurance for catastrophic blazes, and whether it should become more aggressive about preventing wildfires in the West.

The blazes that swept through Southern California have forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate, triggered numerous road closures and prompted school officials to cancel classes throughout the region. The fires also have generated numerous relief efforts, including the opening of assistance centers. Many schools plan to resume classes today. Below is a partial list of the latest available information for the region.

The displaced men and women of this flooded state capital patiently line up to appear on a local TV station that has been broadcasting their messages day and night. They speak quickly, mindful of others waiting. They say they're at a shelter and are OK. Some hold up handwritten signs with cellphone numbers and beg relatives to call. One woman, eight months pregnant, asks viewers for information about her missing parents. They know it's a long shot. Few buildings have power for TVs.

Landlords with the California Apartment Assn. are offering relief programs for people displaced by the recent wildfires. The programs include reduced rent, flexible leasing terms, same-day rentals and waived deposits or application fees. For available rentals in the San Diego area, see www.sdcaa.com; for the Riverside and San Bernardino areas, www.aagie.com; for Orange and southern L.A. counties, www.caanet.org. -- Joshua Sandoval

Mark Meade never thought he'd need fire insurance for his Ramona mobile home. Then wildfires in San Diego County destroyed everything Meade and his wife owned, and this week he found an unlikely savior: the Federal Emergency Management Agency. After several bad years, FEMA is working overtime to burnish its image, and people such as the Meades are the beneficiaries.

The anonymous donor who gave $1 million to help victims of the Santiago fire came forward Wednesday -- sort of. "The Inter-Canyon League is overjoyed to announce that a cash donation of one million dollars was received yesterday from Kane Ranch. The Ranch owns and oversees open-space properties in and around Silverado," Vice President Bob Hunt wrote in an e-mail. The league set up the Santiago Fire Relief Fund to help the tight-knit canyon communities harmed in the fires.

Military ships and helicopters joined in rescue and relief operations today to help hundreds of thousands of survivors of a cyclone that blasted Bangladesh, savaging coastal towns and leaving millions without power. Estimates of Tropical Cyclone Sidr's death toll varied widely. The United News of Bangladesh news agency, which has reporters deployed across the devastated region, said the count from each affected district left an overall death toll of at least 1,100.

The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Sidr continued to rise Sunday, as diarrhea, pneumonia and typhoid threatened to plague the southern coastal districts, which suffered the worst damage from the deadliest storm to hit this poor South Asian nation in more than a decade. The Bangladeshi army, navy and other search and rescue teams struggled to hunt for additional bodies as survivors reeled from a lack of food, drinking water and power, officials said.

International donors pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Bangladesh's cyclone-ravaged coast, but help wasn't coming fast enough to relief camps, where food shortages triggered fistfights. The government said it had promises of $390 million in international aid, much of it from a $250-million pledge from the World Bank. But relief officials were struggling to get desperately needed rice, drinking water and tents to thousands of people in remote villages wrecked by the Nov.

Parishioners at Fountain Baptist Church in Summit set a goal of raising $1 million in two years for communities hit by Hurricane Katrina -- then beat their deadline by six months. A group that tracks philanthropy says it is one of the largest amounts ever raised by a single church. "Anytime you help someone and know they're going to be blessed by your effort, there's no better feeling," said Michael Williams, a trustee of the church.