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HONORABLE CHARLES B. RANGEL
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, June 28, 2005

GOOD ADVICE ON HURRICANE PREPARATION

MR. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, as the people of the Caribbean prepare for another chaotic hurricane season, I rise today to bring to the attention of my colleagues some important advice on the preparation and prevention efforts in the region. During last summer's hurricane season the small island nations of Grenada , Jamaica , and Haiti were severely impacted with terrible destruction of essential infrastructure and significant loss of life. This catastrophe caused the Members of the last Congress to include $100 million in relief assistance in the supplemental appropriations bill for Florida .

Our neighbors in the Caribbean were harder hit than even Florida . Homes, lives, and economic prospects were destroyed in the wake of hurricanes that beat down on the island-nations of the Caribbean and the United States southern coastline. Many were shocked and surprised by the destructive force of these natural phenomena. Many felt the devastating blows of the hurricane splitting and eroding homes, towns, and communities. Others witnessed the indiscriminate winds that ripped roofs from homes, merchandise from store fronts and children from homes.

Hurricane season routinely strikes the Caribbean harder than the U.S. The fragile economies of these noble neighbors too often succumb to the might and power of these natural disasters. As staples of their economy, tourism and agriculture suffer significantly in the wake of the floods, winds, and aftermath of a destructive hurricane. The effect of hurricanes on the United States alone is often breathtaking and requires a mammoth community mobilization and effort of the surrounding states. Imagine its impact on the Dominican Republic , Jamaica , and St. Vincent .

As we enter this annual season of threat in 2005, this Congress should take the lead in preparing our Caribbean neighbors for the events to come. We should be ensuring that the resources are available to meet the humanitarian needs of the region. We should be securing the supplies and gear necessary for recovery. We should be certain that the regional infrastructure can handle the health and welfare needs that will arise.

CaribNews recently hosted a Caribbean conference in the Bronx on the subject of disaster preparedness. They focused on the planning and preparation of the region for the next major natural disaster. In a recent article, they established some important steps that should be taken to ensure that the region is prepared and ready to deal with the consequences of this year's hurricane season.

I submit for the Record the following editorial from the CaribNews on their conferences and recommendations for addressing the challenges of hurricane preparation.

WE NEED TO BE READY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES

June 28, 2005 --It's an article of faith, if you will.

Preparation, they say, is the mother protection. In this case, we are talking about protecting lives, property, and in many ways the future against the ravages of Mother Nature.

In the Caribbean and the South and the southwest of the United States , the need is to prepare against the often-ferocious high winds and the rain of hurricanes. And now that we are into hurricane season, and with the experts predicting some of the strongest weather patterns in recent years, it's important that the U.S. and the Caribbean nations be ready for what may befall us.

Just the other day, Adolfo Carrion, the Bronx Borough President, and this newspaper focused the city's spotlight on disaster preparedness. That was done at a highly successful Caribbean conference in the Bronx and participants in a panel discussion emphasized that we can't wait until a hurricane or other natural disasters strike and then respond.

After all, the geological and geographic features of the Caribbean archipelago almost guarantee that a hurricane can strike at any time during the second half of the year. While we can prevent trade conflicts, end political rows or avoid military adventures, there is precious little we can do to stop hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods from hitting us, affecting all those who live in a particular country or the region.

Last year's devastation in Grenada brought on by Hurricane Ivan was a case in point. Not only was it unstoppable but its effects will be felt for many years to come. The floods, which took thousands of lives in the Dominican Republic and Haiti , could not have been thwarted by human effort but the pain and suffering was prolonged by the inability to respond effectively once the tragedy had occurred.

Similarly, the damage caused by Ivan and other hurricanes in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Florida, St. Vincent and the Cayman Islands spoke more of the resilience of these countries to bounce back and the relatively good fortune that prevented them from being struck a mightier blow than to anything else.

We shouldn't forget too that Dominica was hit but spared extensive damage when an earthquake shook the Caribbean island. Unlike hurricane warnings, earthquake prediction didn't have any value in Dominica 's case.

That's why the meeting in the Bronx was of such significance and why Caribbean nations, the international community and immigrant groups in New York, Miami, Boston, Hartford, and elsewhere must plan ahead in case the vulnerability of the small islands are exposed once again.

For as 2004 showed us, the twinkling of the proverbial eye and the decades long effort to build a country and put it in very good shape to propel living standards forward can be undone in a matter of hours.

Clearly, because natural disasters are inevitable, the emphasis must be placed on minimizing damage and responding to the needs of those affected.

To begin with Caribbean and U.S. governments must take measures to lessen pain, suffering and damage. Mutual assistance and self-help scheme at the institutional and individual levels are vital and must be integrated into sound natural disaster strategies. Building codes must be enacted and enforced to limit the effects of the troubles we have seen in recent years, not simply in the Caribbean but in the U.S. as well when entire villages come tumbling down.

It's incumbent upon home owners and business places whose structures were built several years ago or even recently to check to see to what extent their buildings can resist hurricane force winds, floods, or even seismic shocks.

Although Caribbean governments are already strapped for cash, they should consider providing tax incentives to property-owners to promote disaster mitigation. The tax system can be an important tool to achieve the goal of increasing the number of buildings that can withstand the winds and the rains spawned by hurricanes.

As for the Diaspora and the international community, not to mention local and state governments in New York State and other parts of the country, they must extend their disaster preparations schemes to include the Caribbean . After all, in places such as New York where hundreds of Caribbean immigrants live the inevitability of natural disasters is of great concern to many. So they must be included in the planning and the response.

Caribbean immigrants have in the past responded well and with alacrity to disasters in their respective homelands and in the region as a whole. But there is also an urgent need for a greater coordinated approach to relief.

The counterparts of the Bronx Borough President in Brooklyn , Queens and Manhattan should also consider the approach he adopted recently when he brought people and institutions together to consider the problem before it occur again. Assembling folks to discuss the potential perils ahead and putting mechanisms in place can go a long way in bringing relief after disaster has struck.