FEMA is all set for a severe cyclone and wildfire season, but money is a concern, Mayorkas says

By REBECCA SANTANA

Associated Press

WASHINGTON-- The head of the Homeland Security Department stated Friday that the company entrusted with responding to catastrophes throughout the country is prepared as it goes into what is expected to be an intense typhoon and wildfire season but he's concerned about looming budget plan deficiencies.

As parts of the U.S. are sweltering under possibly record-breaking temperatures, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said extreme heat might qualify as a significant catastrophe under a law governing how the federal government reacts to natural catastrophes but that local communities historically have been able to handle significant heat waves or wildfire smoke without needing federal help.

Mayorkas spoke with The Associated Press during a see to the head office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a rundown about the hurricane season, which began on June 1. Specialists believe this year could be among the busiest Atlantic typhoon seasons on record as environment change triggers storms to become more intense. Already Tropical Storm Alberto, the season's very 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 actually intensified.

"They have exercised these muscles sadly every year. As the effects of environment modification have been a growing number of apparent, we have actually seen and experienced increasing frequency and gravity of extreme weather occasions," Mayorkas said.

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

"We expect the disaster relief fund, which is the crucial fund that we utilize to resource affected neighborhoods, we anticipate it will go out by mid-August. And we need Congress to money the catastrophe relief fund," he said.

If the fund runs out of cash, it does not mean the firm does not respond to emergencies. Instead, the company enters into what's called instant requirements funding-- redirecting money from other programs so it can react to the most immediate, lifesaving needs. That can take away money from longer-term healings.

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

With environment change raising temperature levels nationwide, supporters and some members of Congress have actually questioned whether heat waves must be thought about natural disasters in the exact same method tornadoes, cyclones and floods are.

Environmental and labor groups earlier today petitioned FEMA to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke as significant catastrophes under the Stafford Act, the law spelling out federal disaster action. They argued that both are among the greatest environmental killers which a clear federal designation would unlock money for things like cooling centers to be utilized in heat waves or community solar energy tasks to reduce grid load.

"In current years, increasing severe heat occasions have impacted millions of communities and employees-- ranging from farmworkers sowing outdoor crops under deadly heat dome conditions, to postal employees ducking in and out of scorching hot trucks, to storage facility workers experiencing record indoor heat while carrying out busy physical labor, and to neighborhoods of color suffering out of proportion heat while living in concrete city heat islands," the petition read.

Mayorkas stated the law doesn't prevent severe heat or smoke from certifying as a major disaster but that the federal government only actions in to assist when a regional community doesn't have the resources to react itself. However traditionally that "has actually not held true with respect to severe heat and smoke," he said.