[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 22, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11229-S11232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HURRICANE FLOYD

  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I am here to talk about the terrible 
devastation that has occurred in my State of North Carolina, which most 
of my colleagues, I know, are aware of, and to

[[Page S11230]]

give them an update on a report I gave last week.
  The people of North Carolina are suffering in a way they have never 
suffered before. This is absolutely the worst disaster that has ever 
hit the State of North Carolina. There has been tragedy, and there have 
been acts of heroism. It has been an extraordinarily difficult 
situation, particularly for the people of eastern North Carolina. Thus 
far, we have 37 confirmed deaths as a result of the hurricane. We have 
four additional North Carolinians at this point presumed dead. We 
expect, as the waters recede, as FEMA officials and other local folks 
are able to get into houses that have been covered by water, that we 
will find additional North Carolinians who have lost their lives as a 
result of this flood. Let me give one example.
  We have one entire family that was wiped out by this flood--six 
members of the family. This happened in Pinetops, NC, which is one of 
the worst hit areas of eastern North Carolina. Ben and Vivian Mayo, 
Keisha Mayo, and Cabrina and Destiny Flowers were all killed as they 
tried to escape in a small boat but the boat capsized. Yesterday, 
rescue team members who were working in the area discovered another 
member of the family, Teshika, who was 50 feet from her grandparents' 
home at the time of her death. She was 5 years old. That is six members 
of this family who died in the course of this hurricane. This is a 
terrible tragedy. I ask all of my colleagues and the American people as 
a whole to please give their thoughts and prayers to these families as 
they go through an extraordinarily difficult time.
  We had business losses that we have never had in the history of North 
Carolina. An example is Jamie Milliken's family who operated an 
electric supply company in Brunswick County. As a result of the flood, 
they have lost $2 million worth of merchandise. They had no flood 
insurance. Some of the hardest hit businesspeople in eastern North 
Carolina are the farmers.
  The bottom line is--and I will talk in a little more detail about 
this in a few minutes--there are many farmers in eastern North Carolina 
who will be put out of business. They were already struggling, already 
having a very difficult time making ends meet. This has been a year 
where they have been hit and hit again: Hit by drought, hit by low crop 
prices, hit by low livestock prices. And then, when they are teetering 
on the edge, they get the final nail in the coffin, which is the effect 
of this hurricane on their businesses and on their farms. The effect 
has been devastating.
  We have also had enormous problems with housing and homelessness. The 
truth is, we have people who are desperate. For example, we got a call 
in my office from a mother whose daughter is stranded in New Hanover 
County, where Wilmington is located. She lost everything: Her home, her 
car, all of her possessions, and her job. Her mother says her daughter 
has absolutely no idea how she will go about rebuilding her life and 
she can't stop crying. Every time she calls her, she is crying. She has 
no idea how she will deal with the situation.
  We have about 10,000 people in eastern North Carolina who still 
remain in shelters, who cannot get to their homes because of the 
floodwaters, and they have nowhere to go except the shelters. Mr. 
President, 50,000 homes have been affected by this hurricane. We expect 
that number actually to go up as we have more time to go in and see 
what damage has been caused.
  I might add, I spoke with the Director of FEMA, James Lee Witt, a bit 
ago. He pointed out to me something that the people in North Carolina 
have already thought about. When the floodwaters recede, because the 
water has been contaminated by a variety of things, including 
wastewater treatment plants being flooded, including dead livestock, 
including any of a variety of things, the water is contaminated that 
has gone into people's homes. When that water recedes, folks are going 
to want to go home. They have been out of their homes for a long time 
now, living in shelters. They will want to go home. The problem is, 
their houses will be contaminated. They will have enormous health 
threats as a result of the contamination caused by the floodwaters. We 
will be confronted with a situation of trying to decontaminate the 
houses, and in some cases that may be impossible. It may be required 
that the houses simply be torn down and rebuilt.

  I might add, many of these people whose houses have been flooded had 
no flood insurance. To be fair to them, they had no reason to have 
flood insurance. They didn't live in a floodplain. They didn't live in 
an area that had ever been flooded. They had no reason to believe their 
homes would ever be flooded. They are the victims of this hurricane.
  Water supplies. We have thousands of people in eastern North Carolina 
who have no clean water. Many people who had wells as the source of 
their drinking water, the water they use on their farm, the water they 
use to bathe--the wells are gone.
  In Greenville, which is probably the largest city in eastern North 
Carolina, they are facing an entire shutdown of their water supply due 
to a break in the water main. If this occurs, every restaurant, every 
business, will have to close and it will affect every resident in the 
area.
  We have about 120 million gallons of hog waste caused by broken and 
flooded lagoons spilling into floodwaters. Water is flowing directly 
from our sewage systems into these floodwaters, which are contaminating 
homes, contaminating businesses, contaminating farms.
  We also have a problem with our roads. We have more than 900 roads 
that have been washed out where floods have been recorded. One example 
of this is Interstate 95. You can just see the extent to which 
Interstate 95 has been flooded. It is totally impassable. We still 
have, I might add, many sections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 40 
which are still impassable. We have 10 bridges that have been destroyed 
during the course of this.
  I mentioned earlier our farms and our agriculture in eastern North 
Carolina. These folks have been devastated. They have been through 
extraordinarily difficult times. Now the bottom line is their farms are 
underwater.
  Just some examples of the crop losses we expect to be incurred: 
Cotton, we expect to lose 80 percent of the cotton crop in North 
Carolina; soybeans, 75 to 80 percent; peanuts, 75 to 80 percent; sweet 
potatoes, to date, about 25 percent of that crop has been harvested. We 
expect to lose anywhere from 75 to 80 percent and possibly greater of 
the sweet potato crop. Mr. President, 50 percent of the tobacco crop, 
which we all know is an enormously important economic crop in North 
Carolina, has been lost.
  Livestock: I just finished meeting a few minutes ago with livestock 
farmers, hog farmers from eastern North Carolina, and they have been 
totally devastated. They have virtually no insurance. A lot of these 
farms have lost many thousands of dollars. In fact, the average amount 
of equipment that is located on these farms is worth $500,000. That 
equipment is not insured and it has been largely destroyed because the 
people had to leave their farms so quickly when the water started to 
rise. There have been more than 100,000 hogs that have been drowned so 
far; about 3 million poultry. Widespread starvation is facing many of 
the animals that still are in eastern North Carolina because they are 
cut off from feed sites and they are cut off from rescue efforts.
  The fishing industry has suffered a great deal so far, and they are 
going to continue to suffer. Many fishermen have lost their boats, and 
we expect many of the environmental results of this hurricane's 
devastation in eastern North Carolina to cause problems with our 
fishing reserves for many years to come.
  Finally, debris and contaminated water has done enormous damage to 
the soil of eastern North Carolina, of which our farmers are so proud 
and have relied upon for so long.
  I can show just a couple of other examples of the flooding that 
exists in eastern North Carolina. Many folks have seen these 
photographs from some of the television stories. But here is an example 
of the level of the flooding in a rural area in eastern North Carolina. 
These are people who never had water on their property. They never had 
any notion they had to be worried about that.
  Here is an example of what I saw when I traveled this past weekend 
over

[[Page S11231]]

eastern North Carolina. What is shown in this photograph I saw all over 
eastern North Carolina. You can see that it is not just flooding. The 
flooding is up to the roofs of these houses and it is extensive and you 
see it over and over and over. It is all over the areas of eastern 
North Carolina. Can you imagine the folks who spent their lives living 
in these homes and the devastation this has created for them? 
Everything they own and spent their lives putting together is in these 
homes that have been flooded.
  Finally, I made mention of the farming operations. Here is a farm in 
eastern North Carolina. Everything we see underwater in these sections 
is all farmland; all had crops on them, all a total loss, 100 percent 
total loss. This scene is repeated over and over. I spent hours in a 
helicopter going over eastern North Carolina and landing in various 
places. I can't tell you the human tragedy associated with this for 
people who have spent their lives here. For these folks who farm this 
land and who live in eastern North Carolina, this is not just a place 
they live. This is a way of life for them, and they have now lost it. 
This is something that is going to be difficult, if not impossible, for 
the people of eastern North Carolina to ever recover from.

  Having said all of this, there are a number of people we need to 
thank because the reality is there have been and there will continue to 
be acts of heroism as a result of this catastrophe in eastern North 
Carolina.
  First, FEMA; FEMA has done an extraordinary job so far. I expect them 
to continue to do an extraordinary job. Their Director, James Lee Witt, 
has been on top of this problem. He has been in regular contact with 
all the people who are involved, including myself and Governor Hunt. 
The American Red Cross has been omnipresent in eastern North Carolina 
and will continue to be so. They have done a wonderful job.
  The Salvation Army and the Marine Corps have done a wonderful job. 
The Army, the troops who are located in eastern North Carolina, the 
Coast Guard, the Navy, the National Guard have all worked 
extraordinarily hard to deal with this problem.
  I might add, our mayors and our State and local officials have done a 
wonderful job. I include in that group our Governor, Jim Hunt, who has 
been on top of this situation from the very beginning. I am proud of 
the job he has done.
  I am also proud of the job that has been done by many of the folks in 
eastern North Carolina. The bottom line is North Carolina has been 
devastated in a way that we have never been devastated before. We have 
people who are struggling, who are confronting situations they never in 
their lifetimes thought they would have to confront. People's lives 
have been lost, people's futures have been lost, and their businesses 
have been lost. There are farmers who spent their lives farming this 
land who will have a very difficult time getting back to the place 
where they can farm their land again.
  What we ask is simply for the prayers and support of my colleagues in 
the Senate and of the American people because the reality is we are in 
a difficult situation. We need their help. We know the American people 
will respond in the way they always have to this kind of tragedy, which 
is to support us.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, let me express my gratitude to the Senator 
from North Carolina for outlining the tragic situation he faces in his 
State. As one who has faced similar circumstances in my State, seeing 
nothing but the tops of flooded buildings, I can tell you I was very 
grateful for then-chairman of the committee, Senator Mikulski, who came 
to my State and worked with us during the floods of 1993. I know there 
is nothing more important to these people who have lost everything than 
to know that somebody is trying. There is no way we can make them 
whole. We intend to see that FEMA meets their needs.
  I have already discussed with the senior Senator of North Carolina 
some of the needs. I assure both Senators that we on the committee will 
do whatever is necessary to make sure FEMA has the resources needed. We 
believe they have adequate reserves right now, but we are going to 
continue to work on this problem and follow FEMA's activities. We look 
forward to working with the Senators from North Carolina to make sure 
we do have adequate resources available.
  I join with the Senator from North Carolina in saying we appreciate 
and congratulate James Lee Witt and the entire FEMA operation for what 
appears to be a very prompt response to a disaster situation.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I am grateful for the courtesy of the 
distinguished manager of the bill, Mr. Bond, for his willingness to 
work with me to make sure that FEMA is fully prepared to respond to the 
needs of victims of flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd. I do not 
exaggerate when I say that North Carolina is facing the worst flooding 
in its history.
  There is no need for me to catalogue the details of the enormous 
suffering caused by this storm because I know that Senators understand 
and share my dismay in hearing the incredible damage reports still 
coming in from my home state. I am so very grateful for the kind words 
of my colleagues who have told me they are thinking of--and praying 
for--the people of Eastern North Carolina, and I know they join in 
pledging that the federal government will do its part to alleviate 
their suffering.
  So, Mr. President, I genuinely appreciate Senator Bond's efforts to 
assure that FEMA is currently funded at a level to respond to the 
developing situation in Eastern North Carolina. I hope it is understood 
that this is a serious and ongoing situation and that state and local 
officials are still scrambling to grasp the enormity of the loss to 
life and property. North Carolinians have become gratefully familiar 
with the splendid work FEMA does in the wake of natural disasters, but 
our familiarity does not minimize the heartfelt gratitude we feel for 
the dedicated public servants who are helping the victims of flooding.
  I have the utmost faith in Senator Bond and his fine staff, and I 
appreciate their willingness to consider any additional needs that FEMA 
may identify as this bill goes to Conference. At the same time, I 
certainly understand that there will be an effort to make an accurate 
accounting of the funding--if any--that FEMA needs and I pledge that I 
do not intend to make unreasonable demands upon appropriators. It is 
important that we do not act heedlessly in our understandable haste to 
help those in desperate need, and I will certainly make every effort to 
make sure that any aid requested is genuinely necessary.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I certainly appreciate the diligence of 
Senator Helms and his willingness to work with me as we both seek to 
make sure FEMA is ready to help the victims of Hurricane Floyd. I know 
how deeply he cares for his constituents, and I join him in sending my 
thoughts to the people of Eastern North Carolina--as well as those 
suffering in other affected states--as they begin the hard work of 
recovering from this very serious natural disaster.
  I certainly intend to work with him every step of the way to make 
sure that FEMA has the financial resources it needs to continue the 
important work already underway in North Carolina.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I, too, wish to, first of all, express 
my support for the people of North Carolina. I believe the way we 
express our support and our concern is not only with kind words, which 
we would like to say many, but with deeds. Right now James Lee Witt and 
other emergency management people are responding with gallantry and are 
trying to get a swift assessment of damage. We want to work with you, 
Senator Helms and Governor Hunt, to really be able to get emergency 
assistance to the communities and to do it in a way that is swift, 
helpful, and also affordable.
  I, too, have been hit by damage in my State. Senator Bond is right. 
One of the first things we did together was to be in Missouri because 
they had been hit by floods. A short time later we were hit by ice 
storms and floods.
  You know what is so heartbreaking: After the floods and the waters 
come, then the water goes down, and you just see broken dreams, the 
hard work of lifetimes just washed away. You go

[[Page S11232]]

into a home, and there is the tattered photograph of the wedding 
picture, there is the mud-saturated picture of the graduation, and the 
appliances when you open the door. I think what I remember also, most 
of all, in addition to the tears, is the mud, the smell, and so on.
  The first thing is that it breaks your heart. We want to make sure it 
does not break their pocketbook. That is what we can work on.
  Hurt hearts. I believe the people of North Carolina will have so many 
communal ways that those hearts will be healed. But the immediate thing 
we can do is to make sure that the devastation to the pocketbook is not 
permanent and that they have the opportunity to restore a way of life.
  So I just say to the Senator from North Carolina, Mr. Edwards, that 
he is not alone nor are those thousands and thousands of people. We 
have been thinking about you. We have been praying for you. Our hearts 
are filled with sadness that people have lost their lives. We really do 
not want to see the loss of their way of life.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Will the Senator yield for a moment?
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Yes.
  Mr. EDWARDS. I want to take a moment to thank the Senator from 
Maryland and the Senator from Missouri for their very kind comments. I 
know they will, as they always have, step to the front and help the 
folks in North Carolina who need help so desperately.
  I would add to that, I say to Senator Bond, that Senator Helms is 
working very hard, the senior Senator from North Carolina, on this 
problem. He and I have talked about it on a couple of occasions 
already. We will continue to talk about it. He is working very hard on 
this problem. So is our Governor.
  We appreciate very much your help and support. I appreciate your 
thoughts and prayers. This is one of those times where we need all the 
help and support we can get, I can promise you.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BOND addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

                          ____________________