2024 -- H 7228

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMENDING THE EMERGENCY AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS

WHO HELPED TO KEEP RHODE ISLANDERS SAFE DURING THE EXTREME

WEATHER EVENTS OF 2023

     Introduced By: Representatives Morales, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Potter, Giraldo,
Chippendale, Ajello, Shallcross Smith, Kennedy, and Fellela

     Date Introduced: January 18, 2024

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, The year 2023 was fraught with a panoply of devasting weather events,

wreaking havoc on the lives and homes of many Rhode Islanders. Myriad weather records were

obliterated by tornadoes, cold snaps, wildfires, a tropical storm and storm surges, not to mention

torrential rain and flooding; and

     WHEREAS, February of 2023 brought days of frigid temperatures well below zero.

April brought wildfires and the destruction of acres of land, and June inundated the sky with

smoke from Canadian wildfires. June brought rain almost every weekend, causing the closure of

beaches almost every weekend and negatively affecting tourism, and the beginning of August

brought the first, but not the last, tornado to hit Rhode Island that year, uprooting trees and

causing major power outages; and

     WHEREAS, Mid-August brought multiple touchdowns from a powerful EF-2 tornado,

the first in almost 40 years to strike RI, destroying hundreds of trees and making travel ominous.

Shortly after, the destruction from four separate twisters brought major destruction to northern

parts of the State. September rained and rained, then flooded and rained some more. This

continued on and off until reaching a crescendo of gusty winds and heavy downpours from

multiple additional storms as well as a grazing from a Category 5 storm; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout 2023’s constantly changing and often cataclysmic weather

disasters, firefighters often worked night and day to battle flames, and air quality alerts kept DEM

workers, local and State medical and healthcare personnel, and shelter workers scurrying to

provide care and assistance to the elderly and impaired. Utility workers and construction workers

toiled around-the-clock to restore electricity and heat to homes and businesses, while USPS staff

diligently delivered, and municipal and state staff, with the help of caring volunteers organized

resources and set up myriad services in order to protect the health, safety and well-being of

Rhode Island residents; and

     WHEREAS, Pushing through their extreme physical discomforts and fear, and struggling

with exhaustion from long hours and fatigue, our State’s essential workers selflessly put their

lives on hold and oftentimes at risk, to keep our State’s critical infrastructure up and running, so

Rhode Islanders could get to work or stay safely at home or in a shelter, while still continuing to

have access to basic life necessities; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

recognizes and commends the emergency and essential workers and volunteers who helped to

keep Rhode Islanders safe during the extreme weather events of 2023; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Director Jonathan Womer, the Rhode Island

Department of Administration, John E. Gage, President/CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care

Association, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, President

Joseph Andriole, Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters, the Administrator of the Rhode

Island District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Ernie Almonte, Executive

Director of the RI League of Cities and Towns, and Christopher Kearns, Director of the RI Office

of Energy Resources.

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