Biden says Ida, wildfires show climate crisis has struck

Washington - US president to visit Louisiana to survey some of the damage and meet with government officials there

US President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged robust federal help for the Northeastern and Gulf states battered by Hurricane Ida and for Western states beset by wildfires — with the catastrophes serving as deadly reminders that the “climate crisis” has arrived.

“These extreme storms, and the climate crisis, are here,” Biden said in a White House speech. “We must be better prepared. We need to act.”

The president said he will further press Congress to pass his nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill to improve roads, bridges, the electric grid and sewer systems. The proposal intends to ensure that the vital networks connecting cities and states and the country as a whole can withstand the flooding, whirlwinds and damage caused by increasingly dangerous weather. Biden stressed that the challenge transcends the politics of a deeply divided nation because of the threats posed by the storms and fires.

“It’s a matter of life and death and we’re all in this together,” the president said.

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

Ida was the fifth-most powerful storm to strike the US when it hit Louisiana on Sunday with maximum winds of 240kmph, 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, killing at least 25 people and causing significant disruption to major population centres.

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. New Orleans was plunged into total darkness; power began returning to parts of the city on Wednesday. Biden is set to visit Louisiana on Friday to survey some of the damage and meet with government officials there.

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,” 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, including by making satellite imagery available to utility companies and waiving some regulatory requirements.

At Biden’s request, the Energy Department said it was releasing 1.5 million barrels of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ensure a steady fuel supply in the Gulf region, where sunken vessels are blocking key supply lines along the Mississippi River. The oil will be used by ExxonMobil at its Baton Rouge refinery. The company has agreed to replenish the strategic reserve, which is used as an emergency stockpile, within three months.

Biden’s trip to the Gulf region will cap a difficult stretch for the president, who oversaw the chaotic exit of the US military from Afghanistan after a 20-year engagement. That included the deaths of 13 US service members helping evacuate more than 120,000 Americans, Afghan allies and others fleeing life under Taliban rule.