Current:Home > InvestBiden stresses need to prepare for more climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia, Maui fires in speech today-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Biden stresses need to prepare for more climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia, Maui fires in speech today
View Date:2024-12-25 00:43:11
President Biden on Wednesday stressed the need to rebuild a more resilient American infrastructure, as Hurricane Idalia batters Florida and Georgia. No one, he said, can "deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore."
In a press conference at the White House, the president emphasized the importance of rebuilding a "stronger" Maui in the wake of the island's devastating wildfires, and suggested that infrastructure improvements made during the Obama-Biden years are benefiting Florida now. Hurricane Idalia, which hit Florida's Big Bend coast as a Category 3 hurricane, has since weakened and left the state, but not without dumping heavy rain and rising storm surges on vulnerable communities.
"I don't think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore," the president said, flanked by top emergency management personnel. "Just look around. Historic floods, I mean historic floods. More intense droughts. Extreme heat. Significant wildfires that have caused significant damage like we've never seen before, not only throughout the Hawaiian islands in the United States but in Canada and other parts of the world. We've never seen this much fire."
- For DeSantis, Hurricane Idalia comes at a critical point in his campaign
On Wednesday, the president announced $95 million from the bipartisan infrastructure bill is heading to Maui to "harden the grid" there. That means rebuilding the island with stronger materials and burying power lines underground, he said. The Department of Energy accelerated the funding to meet the island's needs and help Hawaii better withstand future disasters, he said.
"As an example of our commitment, we're not only building back, but we're going to build back a stronger and more resilient future, which means we need to be able to withstand any challenge coming our way in rebuilding the way Maui wants to rebuild," Mr. Biden said.
During the Obama-Biden administration, Mr. Biden said they worked to replace poles and bury lines in Florida. DeSantis in 2019 also signed a bill meant to lead to more underground power lines in his state.
"Well I wonder what would happen now if we hadn't done that ... but the point is, we did it," he said.
- In:
- Maui
- Joe Biden
- Wildfire
- Hurricane
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Massachusetts lawmakers to consider a soccer stadium for the New England Revolution
- Wild black bear at Walt Disney World in Florida delays openings
- Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson knocked out of game vs. Texans with concussion
- Nigel becomes a hurricane but poses no immediate threat to land as it swirls through Atlantic
- AIT Community Introduce
- Ms. after 50: Gloria Steinem and a feminist publishing revolution
- 2 pilots dead after planes crashed at Nevada air racing event, authorities say
- CBS News team covering the Morocco earthquake finds a tiny puppy alive in the rubble
- COINIXIAI Introduce
- Bachelor Nation's Michael Allio Confirms Breakup With Danielle Maltby
Ranking
- Elon Musk says 'SNL' is 'so mad' Trump won as he slams Dana Carvey's impression
- 14-year-old arrested in fatal shooting in Florida
- Los Angeles police officer shot and killed in patrol car outside sheriff's station
- Mexican president defends inclusion of Russian military contingent in Independence parade
- 'Treacherous conditions' in NYC: Firefighters battling record number of brush fires
- Two facing murder charges in death of 1-year-old after possible opioid exposure while in daycare in Bronx
- All 9 juveniles who escaped from Pennsylvania detention center after riot recaptured, authorities say
- Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez Officially File for Divorce After 2 Years of Marriage
Recommendation
-
Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
-
'American Fiction' takes Toronto Film Festival's top prize, boosting Oscar chances
-
2 years ago, the Taliban banned girls from school. It’s a worsening crisis for all Afghans
-
Mississippi officers justified in deadly shooting after police went to wrong house, jury rules
-
Colorado police shot, kill mountain lion after animal roamed on school's campus
-
Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez Officially File for Divorce After 2 Years of Marriage
-
Julie Chen Moonves Says She Felt Stabbed in the Back Over The Talk Departure
-
Hundreds of flying taxis to be made in Ohio, home of the Wright brothers and astronaut legends