IV 

House Calendar No. 267 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1376 

[Report No. 110–856] 

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 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to 

be printed 

[Strike out all after the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 


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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; 

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; 


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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 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 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 

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 


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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 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 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 farm 

workers, the vast majority of which were African-American; 

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, 


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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 potentially 

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 

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; 


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1 (2) recognizes the enduring importance of hur2 ricane preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, 

3 emergency plans, and disaster response training in 

4 economically disadvantaged communities to prevent 

5 a disproportionate impact of natural disasters and 

6 disparities in disaster response; 

7 (3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agen8 cies, research institutes, universities, and disaster re9 sponse organizations in providing intensity fore10 casting, long-range projections of hurricane activity, 

11 emergency management, and hurricane and storm 

12 mitigation to better prepare for, respond to, and 

13 mitigate the extensive loss of life and devastating 

14 impacts of hurricanes and storms; 

15 (4) fully supports initiatives to enhance our un16 derstanding of mitigation impacts on physical struc17 tures, including water management systems and 

18 other infrastructures that may be vulnerable to with19 stand the most intense of storms; 

20 (5) urges the Federal Government and State 

21 and local governments to— 

22 (A) commemorate and memorialize the 

23 80th anniversary of Okeechobee Hurricane of 

24 1928 and its associated tragic loss of more than 


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1 4,000 lives in the United States and its terri2 tories; 

3 (B) appropriately recognize mass graves of 

4 the victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 

5 (C) take appropriate actions to quickly re6 pair and rehabilitate dikes, water management 

7 systems, and other infrastructure in hurricane8 prone regions designated by the Army Corps of 

9 Engineers with Class I ‘‘urgent and compel10 ling’’ vulnerability; 

11 (D) take appropriate actions to encourage 

12 hurricane and disaster preparedness, education, 

13 response, and mitigation; and 

14 (E) support programs and initiatives which 

15 promote disaster preparedness, education, re16 sponse, and mitigation in economically dis17 advantaged and migrant communities; and 

18 (6) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 

19 safety education, response, and mitigation for all 

20 communities in the 110th Congress. 

21 That the House of Representatives— 

22 (1) memorializes the tragic loss of approximately 

23 3,000 lives in the United States and its territories 

24 due to the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928; 


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1 (2) recognizes the enduring importance of hurri2 cane preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, 

3 emergency plans, and disaster response training espe4 cially in economically disadvantaged communities to 

5 prevent a disproportionate impact of natural disas6 ters and disparities in disaster response; 

7 (3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agen8 cies, research institutes, universities, and disaster re9 sponse organizations in providing intensity fore10 casting, long-range projections of hurricane activity, 

11 emergency management, and hurricane and storm 

12 damage reduction to better prepare for, respond to, 

13 and mitigate the extensive loss of life and devastating 

14 impacts of hurricanes and storms; 

15 (4) fully supports initiatives to enhance our un16 derstanding of storm impacts on physical structures, 

17 including water management systems and other in18 frastructure that may be vulnerable to the most in19 tense of storms; 

20 (5) urges the State of Florida and local govern21 ments to— 

22 (A) commemorate and memorialize the 80th 

23 anniversary of the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 

24 and its associated tragic loss of approximately 


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1 3,000 lives in the United States and its terri2 tories; and 

3 (B) appropriately recognize mass graves of 

4 the victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 

5 (6) urges the Federal government, and State and 

6 local governments, to— 

7 (A) take appropriate actions to encourage 

8 hurricane and disaster preparedness, education, 

9 response, and mitigation; and 

10 (B) support programs and initiatives that 

11 promote disaster preparedness, education, re12 sponse, and mitigation especially in economi13 cally disadvantaged and migrant communities; 

14 (7) commends the Army Corps of Engineers for 

15 its ongoing rehabilitation of the Herbert Hoover Dike 

16 and encourages continued collaboration among Fed17 eral, State, and local governments toward expeditious 

18 completion of the rehabilitation effort; and 

19 (8) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 

20 safety education, response, and mitigation for all 

21 communities in the 110th Congress. 


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House Calendar No. 267 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1376 

[Report No. 110–856] 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Okeesociated tragic loss of life. chobee Hurricane of September 1928 and its asSEPTEMBER 17, 2008 

Reported with amendments, referred to the House 

Calendar, and ordered to be printed 


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