[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 37 (Monday, September 20, 1999)]
[Pages 1752-1753]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Hurricane Floyd in Honolulu, Hawaii

September 15, 1999

    Good morning. Let me first say it's good to be back on American soil 
after a very good week at the APEC conference in New Zealand. I'm 
especially anxious to get back to Washington to help to deal with the 
problems caused by Hurricane Floyd.
    I have just had telephone calls with our FEMA Director, James Lee 
Witt, who has been giving me regular updates. And as you know, the storm 
currently, in its rain form, is battering Georgia, Florida, North and 
South Carolina, and is targeting the entire Northeast.

[[Page 1753]]

    These States are now engaged in the largest peacetime evacuation in 
our history. Yesterday I announced emergency declarations for Florida 
and Georgia. Today I am issuing similar declarations for South Carolina 
and North Carolina. I have just spoken with both Governor Hunt of North 
Carolina and Governor Hodges of South Carolina. I've assured them that 
we would do everything we can to help them, and they've given me updates 
on the problems that they expect to encounter, particularly problems for 
the farmers in those areas, who, if there is severe flooding, could well 
lose their entire crops.
    Let me commend the efforts of FEMA, the National Weather Service, 
the National Hurricane Center, and the other Federal agencies and State 
and local officials who are working around the clock to protect people 
and property. Their efforts, along with new technologies, have enhanced 
our ability to predict and prepare for these storms. I hope that every 
citizen will heed the warnings of the officials and the recommendations 
to take every action to protect their families and stay out of harm's 
way. Meanwhile, we will continue to take extraordinary measures to 
protect lives and property from Hurricane Floyd.
    As always, in times of crisis, I am inspired by the way our people 
come together and work together. It proves that the American spirit is 
stronger than the force of any storm. We will keep working on this. 
We're going to leave here in a few minutes, and I'll be getting regular 
updates. It does seem that the entry point of the storm has moved 
considerably north from where it was predicted to move. But it is still 
very, very powerful, and if the present predictions hold clear, there'll 
be a lot of wind and an enormous amount of water on the coast in South 
Carolina and North Carolina within the next few hours.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:00 a.m. at Hickam Air Force Base, after 
crossing the international dateline on his return from New Zealand. In 
his remarks, he referred to Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr., of North Carolina, 
and Gov. Jim Hodges of South Carolina.