MIAMI – Vice President Kamala Harris referred to as climate change an “immediate” and “urgent” disaster Monday as she detailed Biden administration efforts to reply to disasters resembling lethal flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her dwelling state of California.
Harris was set to announce greater than $1 billion in grants out there to states to tackle flooding and excessive warmth exacerbated by climate change. The aggressive grants will assist communities throughout the nation put together for and reply to climate-related disasters.
Visiting the National Hurricane Center earlier than the grant announcement, Harris stated Monday that disasters such because the Kentucky flood and California wildfires present “how immediate, how current and how urgent the issue is of addressing the extreme weather that we’ve been experiencing around the country and the world.”
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 comparatively brief time frame,” Harris said. “The science is evident. Extreme climate will solely worsen, and the climate disaster will solely speed up.”
The White House is main a government-wide response to climate disasters that “recognizes the urgency of this moment and our ability to do something about it,” she stated.
The vice chairman was on the hurricane middle for a briefing earlier than visiting Florida International University, the place she is anticipated to announce grants to defend towards excessive climate occasions throughout the nation.
President Joe Biden introduced final month that the administration will spend $2.3 billion to assist communities address hovering temperatures by way of packages administered by FEMA, the Department of Health and Human Services and different companies. The transfer doubles spending on the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program, which helps states, native communities, tribes and territories on tasks to scale back climate-related hazards and put together for pure disasters resembling floods and wildfires.
“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,” FEMA head Deanne Criswell stated.
The funding introduced Monday will “assist to be sure that our most susceptible communities will not be left behind, with tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in the end going instantly to the communities that want it most,” Criswell stated.
A complete of $1 billion might be made out there by way of the BRIC program, with one other $160 million to be provided for flood mitigation help, officers stated.
Jacksonville was among the many cities that acquired money underneath the BRIC program final yr. The metropolis was awarded $23 million for flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure. Jacksonville, the biggest metropolis in Florida, sits in a damp, subtropical area alongside the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean, making it susceptible to flooding when stormwater basins attain capability. The metropolis experiences frequent flooding and is in danger for elevated main storms.
The South Florida Water Management District in Miami-Dade County acquired $50 million for flood mitigation and pump station repairs. Real property improvement alongside town’s fast-growing waterfront has created a high-risk flood zone for communities within the metropolis and put strain on current methods, making repairs to current buildings an pressing want, officers stated.
The Biden administration has launched a collection of actions supposed to scale back heat-related sickness and shield public well being, together with a proposed office warmth normal.