Supporting a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Victims of Hurricane Katrina
SUPPORTING A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND REMEMBRANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA -- (House of Representatives - September 14, 2005)
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on August 25, 2005, on the southeastern tip of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina then moved into the Gulf of Mexico and steadily made her way towards the Gulf Coast, intensifying to a Category 5 storm.
On August 29, 2005, the hurricane was a Category 4 storm which sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and a storm surge over 20 feet when she devastated the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Katrina swept along the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. Two of the levees that protect the city of New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain gave way under the enormous pressure of the flood waters that Katrina left behind.
Overnight, much of the city of New Orleans was filled with water. Many residents of the Crescent City, who had thought the worst was over, were confronted by nearly 25 feet of water in the streets and in their homes.
One of the worst natural disasters in United States history, Hurricane Katrina has resulted in economic losses that include property damage to homes, cars, ports, refineries, and public property. It is estimated that Hurricane Katrina has cost at least $125 billion in economic damage and could cost the insurance industry up to $60 billion in claims. No dollar figure, however, can be placed on the pain and suffering Katrina has wrought on those who stood in her path.
The American people and the international community have responded overwhelmingly to this tragedy. They are donating money, lending their time, sharing expertise, making many innumerable sacrifices of their own in order to be helpful.
On August 31, 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a day of prayer in Louisiana and asked that all Louisianans pray for the victims and their rescuers that day. On September 16, 2005, the National Day of Prayer will be observed in recognition of the many lives lost and the countless lives forever changed by Hurricane Katrina.
Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of the way in which my own State, the Land of Lincoln, the State of Illinois, reacted to this tragedy. I take this opportunity to commend the Governor for opening the doors of the State, the county board president for extending physicians and nurses and other personnel to the affected areas, to the mayor of our city and especially to the people of my congressional district and all over the country who have given continuously in order to show that they, too, experienced the same devastation and that their hearts, their minds and their resources go out to the victims.
I would urge all of us to support a day of prayer.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kansas City, Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me just state that I agree wholeheartedly with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) that prayer is the highest form of human communication; that it has a way of making things different. So I would simply urge passage of this resolution and thank him for its introduction.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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