H. Res. 1376 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 24, 2008. 
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 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 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 Hurrcane 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
•HRES 1376 EH 
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 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 re-
duction 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 struc-
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-
•HRES 1376 EH 
tially cause catastrophic loss of life and poses grave eco-
nomic and environmental consequences to the sur-
rounding communities; 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 approximately 
3,000 lives in the United States and its territories due 
to the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928; 
(2) recognizes the enduring importance of hurricane 
preparedness measures, enhanced evacuation, emergency 
plans, and disaster response training especially in eco-
nomically disadvantaged communities to prevent a dis-
proportionate impact of natural disasters and disparities 
in disaster response; 
(3) recognizes the role of relevant Federal agencies, 
research institutes, universities, and disaster response 
organizations in providing intensity forecasting, long- 
range projections of hurricane activity, emergency man-
agement, and hurricane and storm damage reduction 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 under-
standing of storm impacts on physical structures, includ-
•HRES 1376 EH 
ing water management systems and other infrastructure 
that may be vulnerable to the most intense of storms; 
(5) urges the State of Florida and local govern-
ments to— 
(A) commemorate and memorialize the 80th 
anniversary of the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 
and its associated tragic loss of approximately 
3,000 lives in the United States and its territories; 
and 
(B) appropriately recognize mass graves of the 
victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane; 
(6) urges the Federal government, and State and 
local governments, to— 
(A) take appropriate actions to encourage hur-
ricane and disaster preparedness, education, re-
sponse, and mitigation; and 
(B) support programs and initiatives that pro-
mote disaster preparedness, education, response, 
and mitigation especially in economically disadvan-
taged and migrant communities; 
(7) commends the Army Corps of Engineers for its 
ongoing rehabilitation of the Herbert Hoover Dike and 
encourages continued collaboration among Federal, 
State, and local governments toward expeditious comple-
tion of the rehabilitation effort; and
•HRES 1376 EH 
(8) recommits itself to hurricane preparedness, 
safety education, response, and mitigation for all com-
munities in the 110th Congress. 
Attest: 
Clerk.