By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The funding available to help cities and states prepare for extreme weather disasters, has been increased from $500 million in 2020 to $1 billion this year (2021).
The U.S. President, Joe Biden, made the announcement on Monday after he was briefed on the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season during his visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters.
Gatekeepers News reports that Biden also announced the launch of a new NASA initiative to more closely track how the climate is changing, and the impact of these changes on local communities, both in the near term and farther into the future.
“Now is the time to get ready for the busiest time of the year for disasters in America,” Biden after 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 U.S President, last week, signed an executive order directing federal agencies to conduct a broad assessment of the financial risks posed by climate change to both government and the private sector
Last year, the U.S experienced 22 separate weather and climate-related disasters (primarily wildfires, hurricanes and snowstorms) that each gulped about $1 billion in damages, according to a White House fact sheet.
