FEMA is ready for an extreme hurricane & wildfire season, but money is a concern, Mayorkas says

Quick Read

• The head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, said Friday that FEMA is prepared for an intense hurricane and wildfire season but is concerned about budget shortfalls.
• Mayorkas mentioned that extreme heat could qualify as a major disaster under federal law, although local communities have historically managed without needing federal assistance.
• Mayorkas spoke during a visit to FEMA headquarters for a briefing on the hurricane season, which began on June 1.
• Experts predict a busy Atlantic hurricane season due to climate change, with Tropical Storm Alberto already bringing heavy rain to parts of Mexico.
• Mayorkas highlighted that FEMA staff have extensive practice responding to disasters due to the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events caused by climate change.
• The secretary expressed concern about the size of FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which is critical for responding to disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.
• Mayorkas warned that the disaster relief fund might run out by mid-August and urged Congress to provide additional funding.
• If the fund runs out, FEMA would use immediate needs funding, redirecting money from other programs to address urgent needs, which could impact longer-term recovery efforts.
• The U.S. is experiencing a heat wave with potential record-breaking temperatures, following the most heat waves since 1936 last year.
• Environmental and labor groups petitioned FEMA to consider extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters under the Stafford Act to unlock federal funding for cooling centers and community solar projects.
• Mayorkas stated that the federal government only intervenes when local resources are insufficient, and historically, local communities have managed extreme heat and smoke without federal help.

The Associated Press has the story:

FEMA is ready for an extreme hurricane & wildfire season, but money is a concern, Mayorkas says

Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —

The head of the Homeland Security Department said Friday that the agency tasked with responding to disasters across the country is prepared as it goes into what is expected to be an intense hurricane and wildfire season but he’s concerned about looming budget shortfalls.

As parts of the U.S. are sweltering under potentially record-breaking temperatures, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said extreme heat could qualify as a major disaster under a law governing how the federal government responds to natural disasters but that local communities historically have been able to deal with major heat waves or wildfire smoke without needing federal assistance.

Mayorkas spoke to The Associated Press during a visit to the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a briefing about the hurricane season, which started on June 1. Experts think this year could be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record as climate change causes storms to become more intense. Already Tropical Storm Alberto, the season’s first named storm, brought heavy rain to parts of Mexico.

Mayorkas said one reason FEMA is prepared is that the agency staff has gotten so much practice responding to disasters as climate change has intensified.

“They have exercised these muscles regrettably year after year. As the impacts of climate change have been more and more evident, we have seen and experienced increasing frequency and gravity of extreme weather events,” Mayorkas said.

Against that backdrop, the secretary said he was concerned about the size of the agency’s disaster relief fund. That’s the primary way that FEMA funds its response to hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other disasters.

“We expect the disaster relief fund, which is the critical fund that we use to resource impacted communities, we expect it will run out by mid-August. And we need Congress to fund the disaster relief fund,” he said.

If the fund runs out of money, it doesn’t mean the agency doesn’t respond to emergencies. Instead, the agency goes into what’s called immediate needs funding — redirecting money from other programs so it can respond to the most urgent, lifesaving needs. But that can take away money from longer-term recoveries.

Much of the United States has been baking in a heat wave, with numerous areas expected to see record-breaking temperatures and hot weather expected to continue through the weekend. The hot start to the summer comes after the U.S. last year experienced the most heat waves since 1936.

With climate change raising temperatures nationwide, advocates and some members of Congress have questioned whether heat waves should be considered natural disasters in the same way hurricanes, tornadoes and floods are.

Environmental and labor groups earlier this week petitioned FEMA to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters under the Stafford Act, the law spelling out federal disaster response. They argued that both are among the biggest environmental killers and that a clear federal designation would unlock money for things like cooling centers to be used in heat waves or community solar energy projects to reduce grid load.

“In recent years, increasing extreme heat events have impacted millions of workers and communities — ranging from farmworkers sowing outdoor crops under fatal heat dome conditions, to postal workers ducking in and out of searing hot trucks, to warehouse workers experiencing record indoor heat while undertaking fast-paced physical labor, and to communities of color suffering disproportionate heat while living in concrete urban heat islands,” the petition read.

Mayorkas said the law doesn’t prevent extreme heat or smoke from qualifying as a major disaster but that the federal government only steps in to help when a local community doesn’t have the resources to respond itself. But historically that “has not been the case with respect to extreme heat and smoke,” he said.

Read more political news