H. Res. 1376 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 24, 2008. 

Whereas the Okeechobee Hurricane, also known as Hurricane 

San Felipe Segundo, formed in the Atlantic Ocean, traveled through the Caribbean Sea, and up the eastern coast 

of the United States between September 10 and September 20, 1928; 

Whereas on September 16, 1928, the Okeechobee Hurricane 

made landfall in the continental United States at Palm 

Beach County, Florida, and proceeded north over Lake 

Okeechobee, after which it decreased steadily in intensity 

before dying in Ontario, Canada; 

Whereas the Okeechobee Hurricane attained the highest classification of Category 5 for tropical cyclone intensity on 

the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, with winds exceeding 160 miles per hour; 

Whereas the Okeechobee Hurrcane is officially recognized by 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as 

the second deadliest hurricane on record in United States 

history, exacting the tragic loss of approximately 3,000 

lives in the United States and its territories; 

Whereas approximately 75 percent of fatalities from the 

Okeechobee Hurricane in the United States were migrant 
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farm workers, the vast majority of which were AfricanAmerican; 

Whereas the extensive impact of the Okeechobee Hurricane 

on African-American migrant workers in southern and 

central Florida was memorialized in the famous 1937 literary work of Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were 

Watching God; 

Whereas the Okeechobee Hurricane exacted horrendous damage valued at over $16,000,000,000, adjusted for inflation, to the infrastructure and towns of western Palm 

Beach County alone; 

Whereas many of those killed by the Okeechobee Hurricane 

in southern Florida were buried in segregated mass 

graves, such as the more than 670 African-American victims in a mass grave in West Palm Beach; 

Whereas the Nation and the State of Florida have taken 

steps to respond to the Okeechobee Hurricane and other 

storm events with the construction of storm damage reduction projects to mitigate the loss of life and property; 

Whereas the Herbert Hoover Dike’s system surrounding 

Lake Okeechobee consists of 143 miles of levee with 19 

culverts, hurricane gates, and other water control structures that provide flood and storm damage reduction and 

other water control benefits; 

Whereas on November 2, 2007, the Army Corps of Engineers 

Dam Safety Action Classification External Peer Review 

Panel designated the Herbert Hoover Dike with Class I 

designation of ‘‘urgent and compelling,’’ the highest risk 

category; 

Whereas a breach of the Herbert Hoover Dike or similarly 

designated structures throughout the Nation could poten-
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tially cause catastrophic loss of life and poses grave economic and environmental consequences to the surrounding communities; and 

Whereas economically disadvantaged and migrant communities are at increased risk for extensive damage and loss 

of life associated with natural disasters: Now, therefore, 

be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) memorializes the tragic loss of approximately 

3,000 lives in the United States and its territories due 

to the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928; 

(2) recognizes the enduring importance of hurricane 

preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, emergency 

plans, and disaster response training especially in economically disadvantaged communities to prevent a disproportionate impact of natural disasters and disparities 

in disaster response; 

(3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agencies, 

research institutes, universities, and disaster response 

organizations in providing intensity forecasting, longrange projections of hurricane activity, emergency management, and hurricane and storm damage reduction to 

better prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the extensive 

loss of life and devastating impacts of hurricanes and 

storms; 

(4) fully supports initiatives to enhance our understanding of storm impacts on physical structures, includ-
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ing water management systems and other infrastructure 

that may be vulnerable to the most intense of storms; 

(5) urges the State of Florida and local governments to— 

(A) commemorate and memorialize the 80th 

anniversary of the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 

and its associated tragic loss of approximately 

3,000 lives in the United States and its territories; 

and 

(B) appropriately recognize mass graves of the 

victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 

(6) urges the Federal government, and State and 

local governments, to— 

(A) take appropriate actions to encourage hurricane and disaster preparedness, education, response, and mitigation; and 

(B) support programs and initiatives that promote disaster preparedness, education, response, 

and mitigation especially in economically disadvantaged and migrant communities; 

(7) commends the Army Corps of Engineers for its 

ongoing rehabilitation of the Herbert Hoover Dike and 

encourages continued collaboration among Federal, 

State, and local governments toward expeditious completion of the rehabilitation effort; and 
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(8) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 

safety education, response, and mitigation for all communities in the 110th Congress. 

Attest: 

Clerk.