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 DIAZ- 
BALART of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred 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, trav-
eled through the Caribbean Sea, and up the eastern coast 
of the United States between September 10 and Sep-
tember 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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•HRES 1376 IH 
Whereas the Okeechobee Hurricane attained the highest clas-
sification of Category 5 for tropical cyclone intensity on 
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, with winds exceed-
ing 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 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 lit-
erary work of Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were 
Watching God; 
Whereas the Okeechobee Hurricane exacted horrendous dam-
age valued at over $16,000,000,000, adjusted for infla-
tion, 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 vic-
tims 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 struc-
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•HRES 1376 IH 
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 poten-
tially cause the catastrophic loss of life and poses grave 
economic and environmental consequences to the sur-
rounding 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 commu-
nities are at increased risk for extensive damage and loss 
of life associated with natural disasters: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) memorializes the tragic loss of more than 
4,000 lives in the United States and its territories 
due to the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928; 
(2) recognizes the enduring importance of hur-
ricane preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, 
emergency plans, and disaster response training in 
economically disadvantaged communities to prevent 
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•HRES 1376 IH 
a disproportionate impact of natural disasters and 
disparities in disaster response; 
(3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agen-
cies, research institutes, universities, and disaster re-
sponse organizations in providing intensity fore-
casting, long-range projections of hurricane activity, 
emergency management, and hurricane and storm 
mitigation to better prepare for, respond to, and 
mitigate the extensive loss of life and devastating 
impacts of hurricanes and storms; 
(4) fully supports initiatives to enhance our un-
derstanding of mitigation impacts on physical struc-
tures, including water management systems and 
other infrastructures that may be vulnerable to with-
stand the most intense of storms; 
(5) urges the Federal Government and State 
and local governments to— 
(A) commemorate and memorialize the 
80th anniversary of Okeechobee Hurricane of 
1928 and its associated tragic loss of more than 
4,000 lives in the United States and its terri-
tories; 
(B) appropriately recognize mass graves of 
the victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 
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•HRES 1376 IH 
(C) take appropriate actions to quickly re-
pair and rehabilitate dikes, water management 
systems, and other infrastructure in hurricane- 
prone regions designated by the Army Corps of 
Engineers with Class I ‘‘urgent and compel-
ling’’ vulnerability; 
(D) take appropriate actions to encourage 
hurricane and disaster preparedness, education, 
response, and mitigation; and 
(E) support programs and initiatives which 
promote disaster preparedness, education, re-
sponse, and mitigation in economically dis-
advantaged and migrant communities; and 
(6) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 
safety education, response, and mitigation for all 
communities in the 110th Congress. 
Æ 
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