FEMADR-615-CAMajor disasterDeclared February 21, 1980
DR-615-CA: California Severe Storms, Mudslides & Flooding
FEMA made a major disaster declaration for California (DR-615-CA) on February 21, 1980 for the incident of January 8, 1980 to January 8, 1980; it covers 8 designated areas.
The declaration
- Declaration
- DR-615-CA (also written FEMA-615-DR)
- Type
- Major disaster declaration
- State
- California
- Incident
- Flood: Severe Storms, Mudslides & Flooding
- Incident period
- January 8, 1980 to January 8, 1980
- Declared
- February 21, 1980
- Programs declared
- Individual Assistance (the older program, flagged until 2008), Public Assistance
- FEMA region
- 9
- Place in the year
- the first of 3 major disaster declarations for California in 1980
- Status
- closed out on June 26, 1997
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
Which areas are covered, and for what?
| Designated area | Individuals and Households | Individual Assistance (older program) | Public Assistance | Hazard Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Orange (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Riverside (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| San Bernardino (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| San Diego (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Santa Barbara (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Santa Cruz (County) | — | — | Yes | — |
| Ventura (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
An area can be added to a declaration after the first day, or have a program added: this table is FEMA's current list.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
How much has FEMA approved?
FEMA has published no assistance totals for this declaration.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2); FEMA, OpenFEMA FEMA Web Disaster Summaries (v1). Data as of September 29, 2026.
FEMA's page for this declaration
FEMA's own page for this declaration is fema.gov/disaster/615. AreaZine is not FEMA and cannot answer questions about an application.