Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 5.djvu/682

 102 STAT. 4688

PUBLIC LAW 100-706—NOV. 19, 1988

Public Law 100-706 100th Congress Joint Resolution Nov. 19, 1988 [H.J. Res. 564]

Designating the first week of April 1989 as "National Earthquake Awareness Week".

Whereas the threat of earthquakes is a national problem, with earthquakes occurring in the eastern as well as western section of the Nation, causing the United States to sustain approximately $4,300,000,000 in property damage and 1,478 deaths from destructive earthquakes between 1812 and 1986; Whereas the State of California leads the Nation in the damage and death sustained from earthquakes, with approximately $2,700,000,000 in damage and 995 deaths between 1812 and 1986; Whereas some researchers believe there is a 95 percent certainty of an earthquake with a magnitude of six or greater on the Richter scale occurring in the Eastern United States within the next 20 years; Whereas serious study of earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains has come about only in the last decade, despite the fact that the largest earthquake known to have hit the continental United States struck near New Madrid, Missouri, around 1811 or 1812; Whereas at least 35 countries face a high probability of loss from earthquakes; Whereas a new era in the recognition of natural disasters and man's capacity to reduce their destruction has begun; Whereas the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 169 has declared the decade beginning in 1990 an International Decade for Natural Heizard Reduction; Whereas the intent of the declaration of the United Nations General Assembly is to promote a cooperative international program to apply existing technology and advance existing knowledge to achieve a less hazardous world; Whereas education, general awareness, and concern is at the core of any disaster mitigation program; and Whereas April is the month in which the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 occurred: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the first week of April 1989 is designated "National Earthquake Awareness Week". The President of the United States is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon all public officials and the people of the United States to observe such week with appropriate programs and activities. Approved November 19, 1988.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.J. Res. 564: CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 134 (1988): Oct. 21, considered and passed House and Senate.

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