[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 88 (Monday, July 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         THE FLOODS IN GEORGIA

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I have just returned from my flood-
ravaged State. I suspect that anybody who has ever witnessed such a 
national disaster of these proportions cannot but be terribly affected 
in grieving for the ache being experienced and felt by so many of our 
fellow citizens.
  In particular, I know everybody in our country joins me in offering 
sympathy to those families who have lost loved ones and those that will 
lose members of their family in these tragic circumstances we are 
confronted with in our region of the State.
  I would like to take just a moment to thank my colleagues, in 
particular, from South Carolina and Florida and the midwestern Senators 
who have called to express their concern and worry about the citizens 
of my State and region. I want to thank the President for being so 
prompt in declaring a national disaster and emergency in Georgia.
  I also want to take just a moment to thank the many heroes and 
heroines that none of us will ever know--the person that reached out 
and grabbed one person about to be lost in the marauding waters; the 
individuals, nameless, that showed up to fill sandbags to protect a 
critical water plant, a key facility in one of the many jurisdictions 
that have been so ravaged by these floods; and, as most would 
appreciate, that unique American quality, that neighbor-to-neighbor 
value of our countrymen that causes them to appear from nowhere to help 
another neighbor in trouble.
  It is happening throughout our region--thousands upon thousands of 
people that have stepped forward with no call, no call to arms, on 
their own, there at the water's edge, trying to help those that have 
been so severely harmed by this disaster.
  I think it worthy of noting the scope of the damage. Georgia is the 
largest State east of the Mississippi and nearly one-third of her land 
mass has been directly affected by these floods. It is just hard to 
imagine 2 feet of water dropping from the skies in a 24-hour period. We 
have at latest count around 2,000 roads that have been severed by the 
flood; 100 Federal highways; Interstates I-75 and I-16, vital links 
north and south for our entire Nation, have been ravaged and severed by 
the force of these unpredicted waters.
  Currently, somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 people have been 
evacuated and are living in temporary shelters. One out of four 
Georgians has been affected by the flood itself. I have just had a 
report come to me that in Albany, which is one of the many affected 
cities, 23 square miles are now under water, 22,800 people have been 
directly impacted and 8,500 homes are in flood waters.
  As you travel and look down across these bleak rooftops, I think 
everybody can empathize to think of all the personal letters, the home 
effects that are cherished and gathered over the years of a family's 
life. To see it all washed away just deepens the ache that we know 
these people are experiencing.
  I am convinced from my review of the area that we are going to be 
confronted with--I know this is of particular interest to the President 
pro tempore--a need for supplemental appropriations. I think that is 
almost indisputable as we look at the growing value of the losses. The 
number I have heard offered as a preliminary number is in the range of 
$200 million. I personally think it will be double that. Of course our 
sympathy goes out to the States in the West that are experiencing 
another kind of disaster with the fires ravaging in Colorado and 
California. I am convinced the national disaster list of 31 counties in 
our State will grow by at least another 5 to 10 counties before we are 
through with the assessment.
  As difficult as the last few days have been--and they have been 
exceedingly difficult--unfortunately we have to look at local officials 
or involved citizens and say to them this is just the beginning. Not 
many have thought about what happens to those in the shelters when the 
water goes down, when you go to the home that is pushed off its 
foundation, the soybean crop that has been under water for 5 days, mud-
filled homes, businesses closed, cash registers that have been shut 
down for weeks, the loss of the water system, the loss of the sewer 
system, an inability to provide the basic necessities of human life. 
The build-back is going to be a long and arduous one. It is going to 
require the patience of those directly involved.
  But more important, it is going to call for unprecedented 
coordination among Federal officials. Again, I want to compliment the 
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and all Federal 
agencies and the executive branch for their attention to this disaster. 
They have worked well with our Governor's office and local officials. 
But now comes the long period I have alluded to. We will have many 
sister counties and sister States that will offer support: Clothing, 
personal effects, housing, trucks, earth-moving equipment. But that is 
going to require enormous coordination. I have dedicated my office and 
all our energies to working with Federal and State officials to be a 
participant in facilitating coordination, making sure the will of the 
country--which is so enormous and so encouraging--is not lost, as it 
tries to move to be of assistance to these citizens.
  Already we can see the signs of strain--strain because we are dealing 
with public officials who have not slept in 72 hours. We are dealing 
with a rush of offers of good will and support which can overrun the 
capacity of those with the best intentions, trying to deal with this 
major disaster.
  So I call on the President, call on the Federal agencies: 
Agriculture, IRS, HUD, the Small Business Administration--to make every 
effort to be prepared for the long haul, this long build-out period. 
And I call on local officials and all of our Federal delegation to do 
the same. We should be as one because this problem is so severe, 
affecting so many lives and futures. This is the time for the ultimate 
form of neighbor-to-neighbor work in coordination.
  In closing, Mr. President, let me simply again thank all of my 
colleagues who have expressed sympathy, all the local officials, and 
again the unsung heroes and heroines who have done so much to reduce 
what would have been far, far worse without this neighborly support.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question of a quorum having been 
noted, the clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Missouri [Mr. Bond], is recognized for not to exceed 
5 minutes.

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