(AU ABC) US President Joe Biden Says Hurricane Ida, Wildfires Show Climate Crisis Has Arrived

ABC News - AP | Reuters

The United States needs to be better prepared for climate change, President Joe Biden says. (AP: Evan Vucci)

Key Points July 2021 was the hottest month on record in the United States Hurricane Ida was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the US More than 40 people have lost their lives in the catastrophe

Devastation from Hurricane Ida and wildfires blazing across the United States are deadly reminders that the "climate crisis" has arrived, US President Joe Biden said.

"These extreme storms, and the climate crisis, are here," Mr Biden said in a White House speech.

"We must be better prepared. We need to act."

Scientists say climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events such as large tropical storms as well as the droughts and heatwaves that create conditions for vast wildfires. 

Hurricane Ida has wrought havoc across much of the United States. (AP: Matt Rourke)

US weather officials recently reported that July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded in 142 years of record-keeping.

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Ida was the fifth-most powerful storm to strike the US when it hit Louisiana on Sunday (local time) with maximum winds of 240 kph, likely causing tens of billions of dollars in flood, wind and other damage, including to the electrical grid.

The storm's remnants dropped devastating rainfall across parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey on Wednesday, causing significant disruption to major population centres.

"The suddenness, the brutality of storms now, it is different," said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Ida causes severe flooding in NY streets, apartments and subway

Ida was "the biggest wake-up call" that the US needs to do more to fight climate change, he said.

The storm has killed more than 40 people in northeastern US states and states on the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi remained without power after Ida toppled a major transmission tower and knocked out thousands of miles of lines and hundreds of substations.

Ida was the fifth most powerful storm to ever hit the US. (AP: David J. Phillip)

Around 600,000 people had no water and another 400,000 were advised to boil their tap water before drinking it, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said.

The US National Guard has been deployed to a number of states. (AP)

Mr Biden said the flooding in Louisiana was less than the region experienced 16 years ago during Hurricane Katrina, crediting federal investments in the area's levee system.

"We know that there is much to be done in this response on our part," Mr Biden added.

"We need to get power restored. We need to get more food, fuel and water deployed."

He said he was receiving hourly updates on the disaster response and outlined efforts by the federal government to ease recovery efforts.

Scientists say climate change increases the severity of wildfires. (AP: Jae C Hong)

More than 6,000 National Guard members had been activated in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and other US states to support search and recovery efforts, he said.

Mr Biden said separately that the Pentagon was assisting with ongoing firefighting operations in California against the so-called Caldor fire, which spanned more than 850 square kilometres and threatened at least 33,000 more homes and structures on Thursday (local time).

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the US west much warmer and drier over the past 30 years.

No deaths have been reported so far this US fire season.

Are US authorities better equipped to handle Hurricane Ida since Hurricane Katrina?

Links

• (USA NYT) Overlapping Disasters Expose Harsh Climate Reality: The U.S. Is Not Ready
• Bodies found in flooded New York basements after Hurricane Ida
• Louisiana swelters in summer heat with no electricity after Hurricane Ida, night curfew ordered for New Orleans
• Hurricane Ida drives home hellish battle with climate change
• Hurricanes, wildfires, and drought: US finds itself battling climate disasters on several fronts
• Extreme Weather Cost U.S. Taxpayers $99 Billion Last Year, and It Is Getting Worse