IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1376 

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Okeechobee Hurricane of 

September 1928 and its associated tragic loss of life. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2008 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. MEEK of 

Florida, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. MAHONEY of 

Florida, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. PUTNAM, and Mr. MARIO DIAZBALART of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Okeechobee 

Hurricane of September 1928 and its associated tragic 

loss of life. 

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 West 

Palm Beach, Florida, and proceeded north over Lake 

Okeechobee, after which it decreased steadily in intensity 

before dying in Ontario, Canada; 


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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 Hurricane 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 more than 4,000 lives 

in the United States, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and 

the Bahamas; 

Whereas approximately 75 percent of fatalities from the 

Okeechobee Hurricane in the United States were migrant 

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 Herbert Hoover Dike’s system surrounding 

Lake Okeechobee consists of 143 miles of levee with 19 

culverts, hurricane gates, and other water control strucVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:01 Jul 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1376.IH HR1376

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tures 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 potentially cause the catastrophic loss of life and poses grave 

economic and environmental consequences to the surrounding communities; 

Whereas given the ongoing potential of the Herbert Hoover 

Dike or other similarly designated structures to fail in 

the event of a major storm or hurricane, priority must 

be given to fully fund and expedite rehabilitation of such 

structures; 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) memorializes the tragic loss of more than 

3 4,000 lives in the United States and its territories 

4 due to the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928; 

5 (2) recognizes the enduring importance of hur6 ricane preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, 

7 emergency plans, and disaster response training in 

8 economically disadvantaged communities to prevent 


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1 a disproportionate impact of natural disasters and 

2 disparities in disaster response; 

3 (3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agen4 cies, research institutes, universities, and disaster re5 sponse organizations in providing intensity fore6 casting, long-range projections of hurricane activity, 

7 emergency management, and hurricane and storm 

8 mitigation to better prepare for, respond to, and 

9 mitigate the extensive loss of life and devastating 

10 impacts of hurricanes and storms; 

11 (4) fully supports initiatives to enhance our un12 derstanding of mitigation impacts on physical struc13 tures, including water management systems and 

14 other infrastructures that may be vulnerable to with15 stand the most intense of storms; 

16 (5) urges the Federal Government and State 

17 and local governments to— 

18 (A) commemorate and memorialize the 

19 80th anniversary of Okeechobee Hurricane of 

20 1928 and its associated tragic loss of more than 

21 4,000 lives in the United States and its terri22 tories; 

23 (B) appropriately recognize mass graves of 

24 the victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 


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1 (C) take appropriate actions to quickly re2 pair and rehabilitate dikes, water management 

3 systems, and other infrastructure in hurricane4 prone regions designated by the Army Corps of 

5 Engineers with Class I ‘‘urgent and compel6 ling’’ vulnerability; 

7 (D) take appropriate actions to encourage 

8 hurricane and disaster preparedness, education, 

9 response, and mitigation; and 

10 (E) support programs and initiatives which 

11 promote disaster preparedness, education, re12 sponse, and mitigation in economically dis13 advantaged and migrant communities; and 

14 (6) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 

15 safety education, response, and mitigation for all 

16 communities in the 110th Congress. 

Æ 


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