[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 118 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8133-H8134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1915
                     PREPARING FOR HURRICANE FLOYD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak out in 
support for all of those people who are now

[[Page H8134]]

working to prepare for the probable arrival of Hurricane Floyd. 
Hurricane Floyd is a Class Four, possibly Class Five, hurricane right 
now, which represents an extremely powerful and strong storm. The last 
hurricane that was a Class Four to hit the United States was Hurricane 
Andrew.
  I had the opportunity to go down into the devastated area after 
Hurricane Andrew came through south Florida as part of a program 
involving the Florida Medical Society. I went into the area to work in 
a clinic, and I was able to see firsthand the devastation wrought by 
this powerful storm, and it is for that reason that my heart, my 
concerns, my prayers go out to all those people who are being now asked 
to respond to this devastating storm, and in particular those people 
who are being asked to evacuate. Emergency management personnel are now 
calling for the evacuation of many of the barrier island communities 
such as the community of Indialantic in my congressional district.
  Additionally, the storm is projected to go up the coast and come very 
close to Kennedy Space Center, and I had the opportunity to visit 
Kennedy Space Center today and review there with the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the Senate Director, Roy Bridges, the 
preparations that are underway. At Kennedy Space Center right now is 
about $8 billion worth of space station hardware that is being prepared 
for launch on the space shuttle. Obviously, all the space shuttles are 
there as well. And the crews are doing a great job in getting ready, 
and boarding up the buildings and preparing the equipment for the 
arrival of this storm, and I would be very happy to yield to my 
colleague from Orlando, Florida (Mr. McCollum).
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding 
both because I want to comment on this storm with him as I know all 
about the east coast of Florida is preparing for what could be one of 
the most serious hurricanes to strike the United States in years, 
including Hurricane Andrew; and we all pray that it does not happen.
  We do not want to see it strike landfall anywhere because of the 
strength and power of this storm, but it could be particularly 
devastating to our coastline and for the families that are there; but 
also to comment with him, as he has pointed out on the fact, that we 
were today at the Cape. I was scheduled as my colleague, the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Weldon), knows to go with him to visit and tour the 
Cape for other reasons, as it is a neighboring district to mine and I 
have a great interest in the space program, as the gentleman and I have 
shared over the years.
  But to me to be there today when they were making these preparations 
is a reminder of the enormous task that NASA has to be involved with 
not only in launch preparations in terms of all of the shuttle program 
and now the space station program and the tremendous effort and 
dedication the men and women there for those purposes, but also to 
prepare for disasters like this, to protect those valuable goods that 
are there at taxpayer expenses.
  So I want to pay tribute with the gentleman from Florida tonight to 
the men and women who work at the Cape for all they have done to be 
dedicated not only to the program itself, but to the preparation each 
and every time there has been an approaching storm like this, but 
particularly now.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I, 
too, would ask that all Members keep the communities not only in 
coastal Florida, but as well Georgia and South Carolina in the path of 
this devastating storm in their thoughts and prayers. We have great 
emergency management personnel that are preparing the communities and 
getting ready for the arrival of Hurricane Floyd; and we certainly do 
hope that the winds carry it out to sea further up north into the 
cooler waters of the Atlantic where it could be downgraded into a 
tropical storm and then ultimately perhaps just become a rain storm.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield again?
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. As my colleague knows, one of the things that we talked 
about today that was impressive to me is this is just the wind damage 
that could be terrible and devastating. It is the storm surge itself, 
the water levels, Pointed out at the Cape that that could come up 6 to 
15 feet above sea level; and I know that is important to everybody 
concerned with the protection of all of the valuable equipment that is 
there.
  But in addition to that, in your district and in many others along 
the coast of Florida there are many, many homes that are at a level 
which could be devastated by this, not just right on the beaches, but 
inland, too, if the water surge and storm surge comes up that much.
  So there is a great threat in the storm that is approaching, not just 
in the wind and the things you read about from the tornadoes and the 
storms that are spawned by it, but also by the tremendous potential for 
flooding and water damage from that surge.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

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