suburban city of nevada officially living in a dissasser zone. not because of a storm or wildfire or any of the usual reasons. it is because of the city s financial troubles. william la jeunesse live on the story in our west coast newsroom. financial disaster zone, william. reporter: martha, think of yourself as a city. you have these locked in salary increases in the new contracts. you have a soaring pension costs and no money because you have a disappearing tax base. you like to declare bankruptcy but state law says you can t. north las vegas found a loophole and declared itself a disaster area. from fire to floods this summer saw its share of disasters but in north las vegas residents know the state of emergency there has nothing to do with the weather. we need to stop spending money. our biggest issue is salaries and compensation and benefits. reporter: unable to declare bankruptcy, the city is using a state law on disasters to declare an emergency. they re claiming a fin