It’s been a devastating week of weather-related disasters across the United States. Much of the Southeast is still grappling with the damage from Hurricane Helen, and another potentially devastating storm is heading towards Florida. At the same time, many parts of the West continue to swelter in scorching temperatures, increasing fire danger and encouraging extreme fire behavior.
It is not unusual for hurricanes and fires to occur early in the fall. But the climate crisis is making matters worse, increasing the chance of catastrophes to overlap and ultimately increasing the burden on relief supplies, emergency responses, and people affected by dangerous and destructive events. .
Federal officials say emergency response agencies were able to lead post-Hurricane Helen recovery efforts, citing rampant misinformation about misuse of funds and politicization in storm-hit areas However, government agencies are still under a heavy burden due to a series of disasters.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters last week that Fema “doesn’t have the funds to get through the season.” Joe Biden echoed these concerns in a letter to Congress, urging lawmakers to increase funding to ensure FEMA does not “withhold long-term recovery efforts in favor of meeting immediate needs.” I asked.
“Congress should provide additional resources to FEMA to avoid forcing such unnecessary tradeoffs and give communities confidence that assistance will continue in the short and long term.” wrote the US president. .
Meanwhile, authorities on Tuesday raised the country’s response to preparedness level 5 (PL5), the highest level, due to dangerous fire conditions in the west. The early October designation – the most recent PL5 since the system began registering levels in 1990 – indicates resources to put out the fire will be scarce as the situation drags into the fall.
It’s already been a busy season for firefighters, many of whom have logged up to 1,400 hours of overtime as they extinguish more than 7.6 million acres of fires in the United States so far this year. Faced with shrinking budgets, fewer seasonal employees and the deployment of more than 1,000 wildfire personnel to support recovery efforts in Helen, government agencies are once again scrambling.
In response, the National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (NMAC), which is responsible for organizing the country’s firefighting operations, called for plans for prescribed burns to be put on hold, which would limit the amount of mitigation work possible this fall. There is a possibility that
Firefighters monitor the Rhine Fire in Angelus Oaks, California, on September 9, 2024. Photo: Eric Thayer/AP”Due to the unprecedented fire environment expected through mid-October, increased initial attacks and expansion of existing fires, competition for resources including increased resource commitment to Hurricane Helen, and seasonal reductions in firefighting resources.” the authorities wrote. NMAC urges extreme caution when conducting newly prescribed fires in the current environment and strongly cautions against relying on national resources to meet Rx goals. Due to current weather and fuel conditions, new ignitions could pose an escape risk and further strain national resource availability. ”
“They all go hand in hand.”
As the country enters fall and the fire season becomes longer and longer, the risk of devastating hurricanes increases.
“This is a normal time for hurricanes, but the Gulf of Mexico is so warm that the storm can quickly become a monster,” said Dr. Dave Easterling, senior climate scientist at the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI). .
“Heat waves, fires and droughts are occurring in the West, and they are all closely linked,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton rapidly strengthened to Category 5 status on Monday as Florida prepares for what could be the largest evacuation in seven years. Just weeks after Helen caused widespread destruction and became one of the deadliest hurricanes, the storm is barreling toward populated areas. More than 230 people have been confirmed dead, and the death toll is expected to rise further.
As with fire season, the risk of catastrophic hurricanes may be prolonged as warmer temperatures persist for more months of the year, further complicating response and recovery.
This year is already on track to rank as the hottest year on record and could very well replace 2023 as the top spot. Heat can be a deadly event in itself, but it also sets the stage for devastating and costly catastrophes. NOAA officials say they are “just the latest example of the extreme conditions we are currently facing.” “and will continue to worsen due to climate change.”
On September 10, 2024, an airport fire spreads near Lake Elsinore, California, with flames approaching homes. Photo: David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images
This is not the first time disaster funding has been a concern. Jonathan Salley, a senior official at Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Prevention, said the costs associated with weather disasters are on the rise, and even with increased budgets, agencies are struggling to keep up. .
“Despite the fact that there is more money going into FEMA’s budget to respond to these things, the scale of these disasters is really sucking that money away,” he said, adding that the continued disaster pointed out that the amount of repeated events such as Back hurricane threat.
He has contributed to a product called the Natural Hazard Index that maps the vulnerability of communities, and shows how extreme events overlap and compound, hitting communities one after the other, and helping to improve emergency management and first response. It is now much more common, placing a huge burden on people, families and communities facing crisis. most directly affected.
Future planning, especially at the community level, is essential to prepare for and adapt to current threats that are expected to worsen as the world warms.
“We know the heat is coming and it will get worse. There are some things we can’t stop, but there are some things we can do to help us better manage ourselves and our resources in the event of future disasters. There are ways to adapt our communities and livelihoods,” he said.
Meanwhile, Easterling warned everyone to take the impending warning seriously. In his community outside Asheville, North Carolina, an onslaught from Helen dumped more than 17 inches of rain in just a few days. But nearby residents witnessed about twice that number. Friends narrowly escaped with their lives before their home was washed away by floodwaters that broke records set in 1916.
“The important thing is that when you hear a warning, you take it seriously,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have more hurricanes in the future, but if sea surface temperatures are as warm as they have been, we’ll see more powerful hurricanes, especially in the Gulf.”
