Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tech & Science

Biden doubles funding for FEMA in preparation for extreme weather events

The Biden administration said it would spend $1 billion to help communities prepare for worsening disasters.

99 of 100 cities most at risk environmentally in Asia
Across the globe, more than 400 large cities with a total population of 1.5 billion are at high or extreme risk due to some mixture of life-shortening pollution, dwindling water supplies, deadly heat waves, natural disasters and climate change - Copyright AFP MANDEL NGAN
Across the globe, more than 400 large cities with a total population of 1.5 billion are at high or extreme risk due to some mixture of life-shortening pollution, dwindling water supplies, deadly heat waves, natural disasters and climate change - Copyright AFP MANDEL NGAN

The Biden administration said it would spend $1 billion to help communities prepare for worsening disasters, the latest sign of the toll that climate change is already taking across the United States.

The move comes after President Joe Biden made a visit to FEMA headquarters on Friday to get an update on the coming Atlantic Hurricane season, reports CNBC News.

“Now is the time to get ready for the busiest time of the year for disasters in America,” Biden said following the briefing. “Hurricane season in the South and East, and the fire season out West.”

“We all know that the storms are coming, and we’re going to be prepared,” he added. “We have to be ready.”

The White House is doubling FEMA funding from $500 million a year to $1 billion a year and yet, according to some disaster experts, more funding is needed because the warming planet is making storms, flooding, wildfires, and other disasters both more frequent and destructive, according to Finance & Commerce.

In 2020, the United States experienced 22 extreme disaster events, primarily wildfires, hurricanes and snowstorms, that exceeded $1 billion in damages for each event.

Based on the formula that determines funding would have allowed the administration to put as much as $3.7 billion toward the program, which FEMA officials considered in the early days of Biden’s administration.

According to Craig Fugate, who led FEMA under President Barack Obama and led Biden’s transition team, states and communities could have difficulties spending that much money on climate resiliancy projects.

“It’s a good start,” Fugate said of the new money announced Monday. He called the $1 billion in total funds “a huge number for pre-disaster mitigation.”

Daniel Kaniewski, FEMA’s deputy administrator for resilience in the Trump administration, called the program “a down payment to reduce future disaster impacts.”

The new funds will be distributed by FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. BRIC was created in 2018 as a way to award grants to states, local communities, and tribes to undertake pre-disaster hazard mitigation projects.

President Biden ended his briefing at FEMA by saying: “As my mother would say, they’re doing God’s work. Today, today’s briefing is a critical reminder, we don’t have a moment to lose in preparing for 2021. And so, again, I want to thank you for all that you do. And I’m looking forward to hearing from you all.”

Avatar photo
Written By

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026.