The aggressive grants will assist communities throughout the nation put together for and reply to climate-related disasters.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris referred to as local weather change an “immediate” and “urgent” disaster Monday as she detailed greater than $1 billion in federal spending to reply to disasters reminiscent of deadly flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her home state of California.
On a go to to Miami, Harris introduced a collection of grants being made accessible to states to assist communities throughout the nation put together for and reply to climate-related disasters.
Touring the National Hurricane Center earlier than the grant announcement, Harris mentioned disasters such because the Kentucky floods and California wildfires present “how instant, how present and the way pressing” it’s to handle excessive climate being skilled within the United States and around the globe.
“Climate change has turn into a local weather disaster, and a risk has now turn into a actuality,” she mentioned in a speech at Florida International University.
Harris cited lethal floods which have swept via Kentucky and Missouri, “washing away whole neighborhoods,” leaving a minimum of 35 useless, together with youngsters. At least two individuals have been killed in a wildfire in Northern California that was amongst a number of fires menacing hundreds of houses within the western U.S. Hot and gusty climate and lightning storms threatened to increase the hazard that the fires will continue to grow,
“The devastation is real. The harm is real. The impact is real,” Harris said. “And we are witnessing it in real time.”
In 2021, the United States experienced 20 climate-related disasters that each caused over $1 billion in damage, Harris said, citing a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There were about six such disasters per year in the 1990s.
“The frequency has accelerated in a relatively short period of time,” Harris said. “The science is clear. Extreme weather will only get worse, and the climate crisis will only accelerate.”
The White House is leading a government-wide response to climate disasters that “recognizes the urgency of this moment and our ability to do something about it,” Harris said, adding that leaders such as herself and President Joe Biden ”have a duty to act, not only after disaster strikes, but before disaster strikes, and that is why we are here today.”
The billion-dollar grant program announced by Harris doubles spending from last year on programs to defend against extreme weather events across the country. Biden announced last month that the administration will double spending yet again in the budget year that begins in October, spending $2.3 billion to help communities cope with soaring temperatures via applications administered by FEMA, the Department of Health and Human Services and different companies.
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program, helps states, native communities, tribes and territories on initiatives to scale back climate-related hazards and put together for pure disasters reminiscent of floods and wildfires. The program is funded via FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and the bipartisan infrastructure legislation signed by Biden final yr.
“Communities across our nation are experiencing first-hand the devastating impacts of the climate change and the related extreme weather events that follow — more energized hurricanes with deadlier storm surges, increased flooding and a wildfire season that’s become a year-long threat,” mentioned FEMA head Deanne Criswell.
The grants introduced Monday will “assist to be certain that our most weak communities are usually not left behind, with a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in the end going instantly to the communities that want it most,” she mentioned.
A complete of $1 billion shall be made accessible via the BRIC program, with one other $160 million to be provided for flood mitigation help, officers mentioned.
Jacksonville, Florida, was amongst cities that acquired cash underneath the BRIC program final yr. The metropolis was awarded $23 million for flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure. Jacksonville, the most important metropolis in Florida, sits in a moist, subtropical area alongside the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean, making it vulnerable to flooding when stormwater basins attain capability.
The South Florida Water Management District in Miami-Dade County acquired $50 million for flood mitigation and pump station repairs. The cash will shield low-lying neighborhoods from sea-level rise and storm surge, Harris mentioned.
Kern County, California acquired practically $40 million for underground water storage to permit entry to clear water throughout droughts, whereas Austin, Texas acquired hundreds of thousands to improve its energy grid “in order that houses and companies and homes of worship can carry on the electrical energy throughout summer season and winter storms,” Harris mentioned.
The grant program is amongst a collection of Biden administration actions supposed to reduce heat-related illness and protect public health, together with a proposed office heat customary.
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