Disaster Victims

A former residential manager accused of bilking developmentally disabled clients of their disaster relief checks after the 1994 Northridge earthquake pleaded guilty this week, the U.S. attorney's office said. Richard Morgan, 61, of Reseda pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to three felony charges of converting FEMA funds for his own use.

The waiver of fees for building permits, plan checks and inspections for earthquake repairs has been extended to Jan. 17, 1997, the third anniversary of the Northridge earthquake. The original deadline was June 30. The legislation to extend was designed to ease continuing residential and commercial repair and reconstruction projects, according to City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who introduced the measure. It was passed by the City Council last week.

20th Century Insurance Co. is being investigated by the state Department of Insurance over complaints that the company dealt unfairly with policyholders in connection with the Northridge earthquake, state officials confirmed Tuesday. The investigation is the first of its type to result from the 1994 disaster. According to a copy of a letter obtained by The Times, state regulators notified the Woodland Hills-based insurer on May 7 that it was the subject of a "market conduct examination."

While digging through the debris of her fire-gutted apartment Tuesday, Melody Johnson stopped to take a leaflet advertising move-in specials at a complex just down the street. Nearby, one of her neighbors had spread his water-damaged furniture on a front lawn to dry. And in front of the apartment complex where 19 units were destroyed Monday, Tony Kim was busy stuffing what was left of his life into a minivan. When he was through, his family's belongings didn't fill even half the vehicle.

The leg found clad in a military boot in the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing belongs to a previously identified victim, meaning the death toll may have to be lowered by one, the medical examiner reported Friday. The FBI used DNA and footprints to match the leg to 21-year-old Airman Lakesha Levy, said Dr. Fred Jordan, the state medical examiner. That means that she was buried with the wrong left leg.

The last of 20 bodies crushed in a collapsed tunnel was pulled out late Saturday, bringing sad relief to this close-knit fishing village after a week of painful waiting. Rescuers worked into the night in the seaside tunnel, 550 miles north of Tokyo, struggling to remove body parts still wedged among the boulders. There were no survivors from the cave-in that occurred about 8 a.m. on Feb.

With at least 53 people confirmed dead, police and rescue workers scrambled Sunday to count and locate victims after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Indonesia. The Saturday tremor destroyed many buildings, and ensuing tsunamis swept hundreds of homes out to sea. Authorities on Sunday expected the death toll to rise. At least 19 people were missing and 85 were injured. More than 100 aftershocks averaging 3 to 4 in magnitude were felt Sunday.

Pacific Northwest flood victims started returning to their flooded homes Sunday for the heartbreaking task of assessing damage, and a key highway finally reopened. The sun was out Sunday and the weather dry, in contrast to recent torrential rains that dumped up to 30 inches in four days, melted a heavy snowpack in the Cascade Mountains and triggered massive landslides. President Clinton was scheduled to travel to Portland on Wednesday to inspect the flood damage, a White House official said.

Northeast Valley homeowners who are still dealing with quake-damaged houses can qualify for loans of as much as $10,000 to rehabilitate their property, under a program approved Wednesday by the City Council. Under the program, to be administered by the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, owners of single-family houses will be eligible for the loans and will have as long as 10 years to repay. Interest rates range from zero to 5% depending on the borrower's income.

Heavy rains wreaking havoc across northern South Africa have claimed at least 19 lives, and forecasters predicted that more downpours were on the way. The South African Press Assn. said heavy rains were sweeping vehicles off roads, setting off deadly mudslides, burying people in collapsed homes and causing other fatal accidents across the region. The news agency said the death toll was at least 19 people.