III

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 188

Expressing the sense of the Senate that additional assistance should be

provided to the victims of Hurricane Floyd.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999

Mr. EDWARDS (for himself, Mr. HELMS, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr.

WARNER, Mr. ROBB, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. SPECTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate that additional assistance

should be provided to the victims of Hurricane Floyd.

Whereas from September 14 through 16, 1999, Hurricane

Floyd menaced most of the southeastern seaboard of the

United States, provoking the largest peacetime evacuation of eastern Florida, the Georgia coast, the South

Carolina coast, and the North Carolina coast;

Whereas the evacuation caused severe disruptions to the businesses and lives of the people of Florida, Georgia, South

Carolina, and North Carolina;

Whereas in the early morning hours of September 16, 1999,

Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear, North

Carolina, dumping up to 18 inches of rain on sections of
2

•SRES 188 IS

North Carolina only days after the heavy rainfall from

Hurricane Dennis and producing the worst recorded

flooding in North Carolina history;

Whereas after making landfall, Hurricane Floyd continued to

move up the eastern seaboard causing flooding, tornadoes, and massive damage in Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, New

York, and Connecticut;

Whereas portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, North

Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia

have been declared to be Federal disaster areas under the

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);

Whereas Hurricane Floyd is responsible for the known deaths

of 65 people;

Whereas 45 people are confirmed dead in North Carolina,

with many people still missing;

Whereas 4 people were killed in New Jersey, 2 people in New

York, 6 people in Pennsylvania, 4 people in Virginia, 2

people in Delaware, 1 person in Connecticut, and 1 person in Vermont;

Whereas as the flood waters recede, the death toll is expected

to increase;

Whereas the rainfall resulting from Hurricane Floyd has

caused widespread flooding in North Carolina along the

Tar River, the Neuse River, and the Cape Fear River,

among other rivers, in Connecticut along the Still River,

and in Virginia along the Nottoway River and the

Blackwater River;

Whereas some of the rivers are expected to remain at flood

stage for more than a week;
3

•SRES 188 IS

Whereas the floods are the worst seen in North Carolina in

80 years;

Whereas the flood level on the Tar River exceeds all previous

records by 9 feet;

Whereas flood waters engulfed cities such as Tarboro, North

Carolina, Franklin, Virginia, Bound Brook, New Jersey,

and Danbury, Connecticut;

Whereas tens of thousands of people have fled to shelters

scattered throughout North Carolina, South Carolina,

New York, New Jersey, and Virginia;

Whereas thousands of people remain isolated, surrounded by

water, in their homes in North Carolina and Virginia;

Whereas approximately 50,000 homes have been affected by

the hurricane, and many of those homes will ultimately

be condemned as uninhabitable;

Whereas water supplies in New Jersey, New York, North

Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have been severely

disrupted, and, in many cases, wells and private water

systems have been irreparably contaminated;

Whereas hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses

have lost electric power, telephone, and gas service as a

result of Hurricane Floyd;

Whereas there have been road washouts in virtually every

State struck by Hurricane Floyd, including 900 road

washouts in North Carolina alone;

Whereas many farmers have suffered almost total crop losses;

and

Whereas small and large businesses throughout the region

have been gravely affected: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved,
4

•SRES 188 IS

1 SECTION 1. NEED FOR ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HUR2 RICANE FLOYD.

3 It is the sense of the Senate that—

4 (1) the victims of Hurricane Floyd deserve the

5 sympathies of the people of the United States;

6 (2) the President, the Director of the Federal

7 Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary of

8 Agriculture, the Secretary of Transportation, the

9 Secretary of Commerce, and the Director of the

10 Small Business Administration are to be commended

11 on their efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane

12 Floyd;

13 (3) the Governors of Connecticut, Florida,

14 Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North

15 Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Vir16 ginia are to be commended for their leadership and

17 coordination of relief efforts in their States;

18 (4) the National Guard, the Army, the Marine

19 Corps, the Navy, and the Coast Guard have provided

20 heroic assistance to the people of the afflicted areas

21 and are to be commended for their bravery;

22 (5) the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and

23 other private relief organizations have provided shel24 ter, food, and comfort to the victims of Hurricane

25 Floyd and are to be commended for their generosity

26 and invaluable aid; and
5

•SRES 188 IS

1 (6) additional assistance needs to be provided to

2 the victims of Hurricane Floyd.

3 SEC. 2. FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE FLOYD

4 VICTIMS.

5 To alleviate the conditions faced by the victims of

6 Hurricane Floyd, it is the sense of the Senate that the

7 President should—

8 (1) work with Congress to provide necessary

9 funds for—

10 (A) disaster relief administered by the

11 Federal Emergency Management Agency;

12 (B) disaster relief administered by the De13 partment of Agriculture;

14 (C) disaster relief administered by the De15 partment of Commerce;

16 (D) disaster relief administered by the De17 partment of Transportation;

18 (E) disaster relief administered by the

19 Small Business Administration; and

20 (F) any other disaster relief needed to help

21 rebuild damaged homes, provide for clean

22 water, renourish damaged beaches and protec23 tive dunes, and restore electric power; and

24 (2) prepare and submit to Congress a report

25 that analyzes the feasibility and cost of imple-
6

•SRES 188 IS

1 menting a program to provide disaster assistance to

2 the victims of Hurricane Floyd, including assistance

3 in the form of—

4 (A) direct economic assistance to agricul5 tural producers, small businesses, and displaced

6 persons;

7 (B) an expanded loan and debt restruc8 turing program;

9 (C) cleanup of environmental damage;

10 (D) small business assistance;

11 (E) repair or reconstruction of private

12 homes;

13 (F) repair or reconstruction of highways,

14 roads, and trails;

15 (G) provision of safe and adequate water

16 supplies; and

17 (H) restoration of essential utility services

18 such as electric power, telephone, and gas serv19 ice.

Æ