H. Res. 642 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 25, 2007. 
Whereas on September 4, 2007, Hurricane Felix, a Category 
5 storm, hit the Nicaragua-Honduras border, causing 
over 40,000 people in Nicaragua and Honduras to be 
evacuated, and killing at least 100 people; 
Whereas just weeks before, Hurricane Dean, a Category 5 
storm, hit Mexico and the Caribbean coast, killed 27 per-
sons, displaced over 260,000 persons, and destroyed over 
36,000 homes; 
Whereas Hurricane Henriette, a Category 1 storm, made 
landfall along the Baja California peninsula of Mexico 
hours after Hurricane Felix made landfall, the first time 
since 1949 that two Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes hit 
land on the same day; 
Whereas for the first time in the recorded history of hurri-
canes, two Category 5 storms, Hurricanes Dean and 
Felix, made landfall during the same year; 
Whereas Hurricane Henriette, though less powerful than 
Hurricane Felix, killed 7 people; 
Whereas the homes of at least 5,000 Central Americans were 
damaged 
or 
destroyed 
by 
Hurricanes 
Felix 
and 
Henriette;
•HRES 642 EH 
Whereas thousands more individuals were unable to be evacu-
ated and forced to endure these hurricanes in the shelter 
of their own homes; 
Whereas Hurricane Felix obtained wind speeds of over 160 
miles-an-hour, causing widespread destruction with heavy 
rains and subsequent mudslides and floods expected to 
follow; 
Whereas Hurricane Felix hit the Miskito Coast, home to the 
Miskito Indians, an indigenous population of Central 
America; 
Whereas relief organizations have reported that thousands of 
Miskito Indians were stranded on the coast and unable 
to travel to safer regions; 
Whereas the poorest civilians of Honduras and Guatemala 
who live in hillside villages will be most susceptible to 
mudslides due to their inland location; 
Whereas Honduras and Nicaragua, the poorest countries of 
Central America, have economies that rely heavily on lim-
ited agricultural exports, which make both countries ex-
tremely vulnerable to natural disasters; 
Whereas major tourist destinations, including Cabo San 
Lucas, the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Acapulco, and a host 
of Caribbean islands, were forced to evacuate due to the 
hurricanes, thus harming the tourist industry on which 
these areas depend; and 
Whereas Honduras and Nicaragua were still rebuilding after 
the devastating effects of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, 
which killed nearly 11,000 people and left more than 
8,000 people missing, destroyed the infrastructures and 
economies of both countries, and caused billions of dollars 
in damage: Now, therefore, be it
•HRES 642 EH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses its sympathy to and support for the 
people and governments of the countries of Central 
America, the Caribbean, and Mexico in this time of dev-
astation; 
(2) vows its continued friendship and support for 
our neighbors in Central America, the Caribbean, and 
Mexico; 
(3) urges all parties to continue their efforts in 
evacuating and providing aid to those individuals dis-
placed by the hurricanes; 
(4) recognizes the United States Government’s ini-
tial efforts to provide assistance to populations affected 
by the hurricanes and urges increased and continued as-
sistance as the effects of the hurricanes continue to un-
fold; 
(5) encourages public institutions, specialized agen-
cies, as well as private citizens, to offer their resources; 
and 
(6) recognizes the efforts of relief organizations, in-
cluding the International Federation of Red Cross and