IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 76 
Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide 
in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing the 
sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected 
people and communities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2009 
Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MACK, Ms. ROS- 
LEHTINEN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GENE GREEN of 
Texas, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. BERMAN, and Mr. 
CROWLEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused 
by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa 
Rica and expressing the sense of Congress that the 
United States should assist the affected people and com-
munities. 
Whereas, on January 4, 2009, millions of tons of earth fell 
onto a road in the Alta Verapaz area north of Guatemala 
City, Guatemala; 
Whereas it is suspected that a geological fault triggered the 
movement of earth, sending 10,000,000 tons of mud and 
rock down a hillside onto a road that runs from San 
Cristobal Verapaz to Chicaman, north of Guatemala City; 
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•HRES 76 IH 
Whereas at least 38 people have been confirmed dead and up 
to 60 may be missing, many of whom are coffee workers 
in the region; 
Whereas rescue organizations, volunteers, and agencies from 
throughout Guatemala had been working at the site until 
danger of another landslide shut down the operation; 
Whereas on January 8, 2009, at 1:21, a 6.1 magnitude 
earthquake shook the Capital region of San Jose, Costa 
Rica, including the areas of Sarapiqui, Varablanca, and 
Poasito; 
Whereas the earthquake’s epicenter was 20 miles from San 
Jose at a depth of 21.7 miles and the shaking continued 
for 40 seconds; 
Whereas 20 Costa Ricans have been confirmed dead, over 
100 have been treated for injuries, and up to 17 may be 
missing, including many buried by resulting landslides; 
Whereas 518 homes have been destroyed to the point where 
they are uninhabitable, 26 kilometers of road are unus-
able, and 61 communities have been affected; 
Whereas roads, businesses, government buildings, and the 
popular tourist sites at the Poas Volcano and the La Paz 
waterfalls have been severely damaged; and 
Whereas Guatemala and Costa Rica have been frequently im-
pacted by significant natural disasters including those in 
the aftermath of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala in 2005 
that led to hundreds of deaths: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the House of Representatives— 
(A) mourns the terrible loss of life caused 
by the landslide that occurred on January 4, 
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2009, in Guatemala and the earthquake on 
January 8, 2009, in Costa Rica; 
(B) expresses its deepest condolences to 
the families of the many victims; and 
(C) applauds the prompt humanitarian re-
sponses to these natural disasters by the Gov-
ernments of Guatemala and Costa Rica; and 
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that it should be the policy of the United 
States— 
(A) in collaboration with the Government 
of Guatemala, the Government of Costa Rica, 
humanitarian organizations, and multilateral 
development banks in the region, to imme-
diately assist as appropriate the Governments 
of Guatemala and Costa Rica in humanitarian 
and reconstruction efforts from the January 4, 
2009, landslide and the January 8, 2009, 
earthquake; 
(B) to continue technical assistance to 
Central American governments in order to 
strengthen their capacity at the national, pro-
vincial, and local levels in the area of disaster 
management coordination and preparedness, in-
cluding implementing information and commu-
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nications systems to help with the response to 
natural disasters; and 
(C) to work closely with the governments 
of these countries to improve disaster mitiga-
tion techniques and compliance among all key 
sectors of their societies. 
Æ 
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